


Artificial Heart

by Cinnibun_Krysanthemum



Category: Danger Days: The True Lives of the Fabulous Killjoys - My Chemical Romance (Album), The True Lives of the Fabulous Killjoys (Comic)
Genre: <3, Cliffhanger chapters, Idk what i'm doing, Minor Character Death, Other, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Rating May Change, Tags May Change, haha sorry it’s sad now, itll get better, no established update schedule, sorry - Freeform, the author likes angst whoops, we'll see how this goes
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-10-01
Updated: 2020-10-23
Packaged: 2020-11-08 12:20:52
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 18
Words: 24,921
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20835368
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Cinnibun_Krysanthemum/pseuds/Cinnibun_Krysanthemum
Summary: Better Living Industries works to make everything perfect. Emotions not authorized by BL/ind are imperfect. Thoughts and actions that are unapproved by BL/ind are imperfect. Defects in any part of life- a building, a road, even a person- if left unfixed, are imperfect. Imperfections must be fixed. They are threats.Any small detail or imperfection that could ruin life inside Battery City must be changed or removed, no matter the cost.Sometimes, that cost is a person; a life.





	1. Blood on the Bed

**Author's Note:**

> Hiiii, so this is my first fic, but I've fallen in love with my idea and have been pouring a lot of time into it. It's not very far along, but here's a first chapter! I love all of you!  
Oh! And thank you so so so much to Ax for beta-ing this chapter! Love you, friendo!

* * *

In the desert, there are a few universally understood things about Better Living Industries and Battery City. They see emotion and free expression as a threat to them and all they stand for. They’re willing to do anything to keep things how they think it should be. They are the enemy and their morals range from skewed and flawed to completely non-existent.

In the city, there are a few universally understood things about the zones and the rebels living there. Residents of the desert are lawless. They are worthless to the city except as threats and examples to the good citizens of what could become of them if they disobey. They are the enemy, but are not worthy foes; they are uneducated monsters.

Some of these things are really true, and some of these things and more are believed by both sides.

They are truly enemies to each other. The desert is full of life and colour. The killjoy rebels are happy and free. They are not like the citizens of the city, no matter if they originate from there.

The city hates boundless emotional expression and freedom without rules. They love when things are exactly how they should be and will do anything to keep it that way. And even one thing being off can ruin everything and must be dealt with. That thing, or person, as the case often is, will be fixed, whether or not it wants to be. They do not care who they hurt or what they take away from someone, as long as they get what they want out of it.

One such person was under the watchful eye of city officials for years before action was taken. He was never a bad student in school, a bad son at home, or a bad citizen in the city; but there was something off about him that they feared would become a problem if it got any worse than it already was. He was on thin ice in their eyes.

The biggest problem was, he was an extremely feeling person. He had a big heart; felt every single emotion much more strongly than others did. He got easily excited, sad, and creative; and he reportedly made others uncomfortable with how much raw emotion he had. Such extreme emotions would already be a problem for many from day to day, but with the added expectations and guidelines of the city, it was much worse.

Sterling Jiménez confused his family and friends with this emotional nature. They weren’t scared, but they all felt there was something imperfect about him that should be changed, and that would make life better for him and everyone around him. Typically he was an outcast, and sometimes bullied at school, but it never got too bad or was too constant of a problem. He was sixteen when he finally got to be too much for his best friend, and the boy reported his problems with Sterling to a city official. Everything changed for Sterling from that point on.

Better Living Industries was all too aware of the state of this flawed citizen of theirs and had an idea in mind for how to fix him, a plan to solve his special case, something they’d been developing since he first became a problem. He was taken into an office in his neighbourhood where he was to be tested.

They gave him many tests with constant, worrying results, proving that he was extremely, even dangerously, full of emotion. It was as they feared; he was a threat to them and all they worked for. Even a threat to himself. To finish, he was asked questions about his daily life, to figure out if there was a simple solution. He explained that he was on a high dosage of required medication, he ate only approved meals, attended all classes and meetings he was supposed to, had extra meetings weekly to discuss his differences, and even received the common-practice discipline when he misbehaved. Knowing this, he should’ve been conditioned into normality by now if it was a simple problem with an easy fix.

The doctors and officials who conducted the tests knew what had to be done; that it was necessary for them to go through with the procedure they’d been developing.

“Mr. Jiménez.”

“Yes?”

The doctor winced at his bright smile as he responded.

“For the sake of yourself and your community, it has been decided that you will be put through a new program. To fix your problems.”

“Oh, I need fixing? I feel perfectly fine. Your tests were fun, but I thought I did well.”

“You performed adequately. But we have come to an agreement that you need help.”

“Alright. That sounds fine to me, as long as it’s helping everybody.”

“Believe me, everyone will be better off.”

Sterling nodded and smiled, following the doctor as she walked. He was directed to lay on a gurney bed, and did so hesitantly, then was wheeled to an elevator. The lights inside were all yellow, and the walls were mirrored. As he looked around, he realized that the lighting took away the few colours that had been present, making everything appear as neutral tones, no matter what colour it had been before. Seeing this, he began panicking and trying to get up, upset and unsettled by the change.

Noticing his agitated state, the doctor seemed to first attempt to calm him, then she strapped him down to the gurney instead, proving much more effective for her purposes, though it was just more stressful to Sterling. When the elevator reached its destination, he was moved to a room marked ‘Operations’ above the doorway.

Now in the right place and properly restrained, despite how hard he fought against it, they began to explain what was to be done, hoping he was listening. Better Living Industries had developed an artificial heart, which would make him better than before; less of his strong, uncontrolled emotions. They would simply need to make this small change to him, and he would be a perfect citizen yet again.

The process would begin with cutting a hole, so he would need to be knocked out—safely, of course, they assured him—and then the process could continue. After it was explained, he was injected with something, and passed out, for some reason still thinking and feeling and dreaming about all sorts of things, what would happen, what this would mean, and how little he actually understood of it all. His sleep soon became blank, drifting further, losing awareness as in the waking world, the operation advanced.

* * *

_ Cold and bright, too bright even through closed eyes._

_“Wake up. Mr. Jiménez, wake up. The operation is complete.”_

_“He’s not showing any signs of awareness. The heart is working fine, but he has no other signs of life.”_

_ “A shame. No matter. He still won’t be a burden on this city any longer.” _

_“What should we do with him?” _

_“Toss him into the desert with all the other garbage.” _

_“And...what of his friends and family?” _

_“They don’t have to know. He’ll be wiped from their memories. They’d never miss him much anyway.” _

_“I understand. I’ll take care of the disposal."_

_"Thank you. Good to know that he won't be a problem anymore. Even if it did not all go as it was intended, we'll always get our way in the end."_

* * *

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oooo drama! Let's see where this goes! (i barely have any idea where it goes honestly. I have an end point planned but no idea how I'm getting there...)
> 
> Support in the form of comments, Kudos, etc are much appreciated!  
I'm open to questions, feedback, and possibly even suggestions on here and on tumblr, fandom url is starman-trashcan
> 
> I love you all! Have a great day, and I hope you enjoyed!


	2. I'm Feeling Fine

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The lost becomes found.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter two! Been wanting to post this since last Wednesday.
> 
> I hope you’ll enjoy it!
> 
> Thanks to Jack and once again Ax for beta-reading! I love you both!❤️💛

* * *

“Alright, let’s see…”

Kobra Kid mumbled to himself as he double-checked his supplies and unloaded as many of them as would fit from his bag into the back compartment of the bike.

“Mhm. Power Pup… water… crackers… yeah. okay, good.”

He wrapped some of them in fabric scraps he’d picked up, saving space, and left everything else in the bag, hooking it to the handles so it sat in front.

“Should be able to make it back in good time still… talkin’ to Pony didn’t take nearly as long as usual…”

He laughed softly and got onto his bike, then headed back home toward the diner.

He only got a little of the way there before he saw something on the side of the road, that looked fairly large. He pulled up to it and quickly recognized it. 

A person.

“Oh, what the hell…? They're wearing white... This had better not be scarecrow..." 

He quickly came to a complete stop and got off the bike, moved near them and realized that it was, thankfully, just a regular person, and they needed help. He kneeled next to them and made a quick check to confirm that they were indeed still alive, then covered them with his shadow and gently shook them.

“Hey. Wake up.”

No response.

“Whoever you are. I know you’re alive. Please, get up.”

“Mnngh…”

“Come on. You can do it.”

“Hngh… h-hello?”

“Hey. You’re awake. Are you okay?”

“Think so, why? And,” they looked around, confused. “Where am I?”

“In the desert. The Zones.”

The stranger looked shocked, but only for a moment and not nearly enough, considering how confused they should have been, not only in a different place when they woke up, but not even anywhere in the city.

“Really?”

“Yeah. Now let me check you over, you were lying there unconscious, and I don’t think that either of us knows why. Better to make sure nothing’s wrong right now before doing anything else.”

“Anything else… like what?”

“Dunno. Taking you somewhere safer?”

“Alright.” They went quiet and let Kobra inspect them, but they hadn’t seemed to have sustained any visible injuries.

“You seem fine, I think, but I don't want this calm you’ve got right now to be false or break, so I’m going to talk to you for just a bit to make sure you’re not going to panic on me. Sound good?”

“Definitely.”

“Oh, and what’s your gender, or what pronouns do you use?”

“Um… ‘he...’” they, or he, spoke as if it was the most obvious thing ever. Which it probably was for him, come to think of it. They didn’t really have anything apart from binary gender assigned at birth in the city.

“Right. Makes sense.”

The guy nodded and they continued their conversation.

* * *

This guy was showing such genuine concern for him even though Sterling was practically a stranger to him. It warmed his heart and made him want to hug him, or maybe cry. He probably would’ve, but something was wrong. Ever since he left the city, it was like all his feelings were under thirty layers of fog; he had them, strong as ever, but it was like they couldn’t get up to the surface, he wasn’t feeling them. He wanted so badly to truly experience those feelings and follow through with them, but no matter how hard he tried, it felt like he was trapped in a soundproof box; nobody could hear him. Instead, he kept eye contact as he talked, nodded, and expressed his gratitude by cracking the barest hint of a smile at him. He hated that such a small smile was surprising enough to cause a visible shock on his face, but more, he hated that he hadn’t really been paying attention, and missed most of what the killjoy said, which probably included his name. Usually, he would’ve blushed at the embarrassment, but he merely continued sitting there. He forced himself to tune back into his words.

“What’s your name?” 

“I… don’t remember…” That was a bad sign. What was it? He searched all over his body until he found a tag on his neck, he turned it over and read what he found aloud. “Subject 001 - J.S.” 

“J.S.? Those are...likely your initials?”

“Possibly. I don’t know.”

“That’s… not good.”

He nodded in agreement—would have huffed but couldn’t even do that in his current state—and played with the chain of the tag.

* * *

Talking to the guy and checking him over, Kobra could very quickly tell three things about him. More was evident, obviously, but there were three big, noticeable things. One, he was new; fresh out of the city. He looked too clean, and then there was the obvious fact that his clothes were stark white. Second, he was undeniably hot. He was so handsome, or, not so much handsome, as… pretty. With gorgeous earthy-coloured eyes; thick, brown, curly hair; beautifully tanned skin; and long limbs that appeared strong through his clothes. That wasn’t important though. Third, there was something up with him. Not necessarily anything wrong, but there was something weird going on there. Kobra had experience with weird. He lived with Party and Ghoul after all. But even so, this was a different weird. Even finding him like he was, clearly not okay and even bleeding a little, he seemed entirely unconcerned with his own state or anything else. Kobra knew that most people who interacted with him if asked said or would probably say that he was rather unemotional, which wasn’t entirely untrue. However, accurate as it may often be, he had his reasons. And his familiarity with times of limited-expression gave him more knowledge than others would have. He knew that such complete blankness was not normal; exceeded the degree to which even he blocked his emotional output. This guy… J.S., whatever that stood for… his time in the city had done him no favours. After a bit, he saw him smile, just slightly, barely noticeable if he hadn’t been studying him and his face so much, but he saw, and he couldn’t help the surprise that crossed his own face. He’d assumed that with his… emotional deficit, he wouldn’t show anything, or couldn’t, but either way, apparently he’d been wrong. As small a smile as it was though, it was lovely and gave Kobra the impression that a real, true, big smile from him would be beautiful. He continued checking him over and making sure nothing was wrong, and that he was trusted by him, then helped the guy onto his bike so he could take him to the diner and let the others know where he’d been. Bringing a guest in this condition would definitely explain what took him so long too, but would probably cause a bit more worry than necessary as well.

* * *

“Destroya! Where have you been?!” He was knocked to the ground by the bright red blur of his brother. “That was a short trip and you know it! What could’ve taken so long?!”

“Well, uh… about that…” 

“You didn’t get hurt, did you? I should’ve listened to my gut and not let you go.”

“No! Really, it was good that you sent me out today. Might even have been fated to happen.”

“Wh-what do you mean? Why did you need to be out there? Did something… happen?”

“Yeah, actually, there was a guy.” 

“A guy? What’s that mean?” 

“When I was out, I had picked up what we needed and was just about to head on back, but… then I noticed a guy. He was just laying in the sand, looked unconscious.” 

Party looked worried at those words. “You helped him? Right…?”

“Yeah! Yeah, of course I did! Don’t worry. I’m not heartless.”

“You sure? Sometimes it really seems like it,” said another voice. Ghoul lightly socked Kobra in the arm.

“So, what we talkin’ about?” He turned to look at Party. “Kobra’s inability to be punctual, or how you worry too much?”

“Shut up.” Both brothers glared at him while speaking in unison.

“Fine, fine. So, what’s goin’ on for real?”

“Kobes got here so late ‘cause he found an unconscious guy.”

“No kidding?!” He seemed way too excited about what was more accurately a worrying situation than a cool one.

“So, _ anyway _…” Kobra continued, annoyed, “I brought ‘im back with me. Hoped one ‘a you could help me take a better look. And I figured it was smarter to take him where we have supplies, and he agreed.”

“Oh, he’s awake now?” Party broke in, looking pleasantly surprised. 

“Huh? Oh. Yeah. Forgot that I didn’t say. He’s sitting outside by my bike.” 

“Did you… talk to him at all?” 

“Yep. He’s kinda messed up though.”

“Messed up? Like, traumatized?”

“Not exactly, but… maybe?” He shook his head dismissively. “You’ll be able to see for yourself what I mean.”

“Uh, alright then?”

They both followed him outside, unsure who or what to expect.

* * *

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, now we have more familiar characters!
> 
> The reason Sterling still uses that name in his POV despite not remembering it is because it’s past tense so it doesn’t have to be the current name, and also for communication purposes. I wouldn’t think my name in my head even though I’m in my point of view, but others who see me would know my name and apply it, whether or not I know my own. So in the case if the story, you, the readers are the other people seeing him.  
Hope that makes sense! <3
> 
> Any feedback, comments, other questions, suggestions, etc are very welcome both below in the comments and on Tumblr, you can talk to me at starman-trashcan 
> 
> Hope everyone has a great week, and I’ll see you’se for the next update! <3


	3. Something Wrong with Me

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The killjoys meet their strange guest. They have their opinions about him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey! Actually got the chapter up today! Well, in some time zones.  
I've been really busy and stressed, so this was the last full chapter in my backlog. Fingers crossed for next week to go up on time, but if not, consider yourself warned!  
This chapter wasn't beta-read but, oh well!  
Thanks to Jack and Ax for being amazing and supportive and helpful in other ways though while I've been stressed!  
Enjoy!

* * *

There were more people now, and Sterling had no idea what was going on, other than the person who found him, _ Kobra Kid_, he’d learned, had taken him to his home, where he had some friends. Obviously, these would have to be those friends, from the way they were acting, but he still didn’t quite get what they were doing here. He had half a mind to feel uncomfortable at their staring, but like everything else, he couldn’t _really _feel it. He paid attention as they began talking. First, a guy with vibrant red hair spoke.

“Hey… Are you okay? What happened to you?”

“Uh, well,” he really didn’t know what to say. He could barely feel anything. How was he supposed to know if he was okay? “I’m fine, I think. And I don’t know what happened.”

“Well, whatever it was, the city obviously caused it,” he spoke with venom in his tone, despise for the city obvious, though Sterling had no idea why.

“Ugh, yeah, those monsters. Willing to hurt anyone just to keep things perfect,” the other new person echoed disgustedly.

“They’re not that bad…”

All three stared at him incredulously. 

“You’re kidding, right?”

“Um… no? Why would I be?”

The man who’d asked him the question turned to Kobra. 

“I know you said he was messed up, but I didn’t think you meant _ that _ kind of messed up.”

“I didn’t! I swear. I can tell he’s new, but I’d expect him to dislike them at least some, being out here.”

“I’m still right here. You don’t have to act as if I can’t hear you. Who are you anyway?”

“Oh. Sorry. This is Party Poison, my brother. And this is Fun Ghoul.”

“What kind of names are those?”

“The kind you’ll hopefully have soon, bud. Unless you’ve already made one?”

“Oh uh, I meant to say, he-” Kobra was cut off.

“I don’t remember my name.”

“You… what?”

“I just don’t remember.”

“Yeah, uh, I tried saying…” Kobra nervously rubbed the nape of his neck while looking awkwardly to his brother and friend.

“Oh. Well… uh, that’s… that’s okay! We can just, um, figure something out?”

“Yeah, who needs names anyway?! You sure don’t!”

Kobra just scowled vaguely at his friend’s interjection. “I think I disagree, Ghoul. Having a name seems rather important to me. What would you even call me without my name?”

“Uhhhhh….. I’m not sure.”

“Exactly.”

“But we’ll figure something out for sure! Don’t even worry! In the meantime, what do you remember?”

This..._ Ghoul _ seemed very enthusiastic about having a new person to talk to, even if he didn't know anything about him. 

“I’m not going to be much for conversation, I’m afraid. If I don’t even know my name, I doubt I’ll have much more information.”

“Yeah, I _ guess _ , but maybe that means I can get you interested in the things _ I _ like! You’re like a blank slate, something new and different to experiment with!”

“Ghoul!” The redhead..._ Party Poison _ ... sounded exasperated. “Do _ not _ use our guest as a test subject!”

“But _ Party… _ how often do we get a chance like this?!”

“I’ll agree not often, but there’s plenty of other new and exciting things out here all the time Things that aren’t _ people _.”

“Not really.”

Sterling decided to speak up. He didn’t understand any of this.

“Um, pardon me, but… where are we, anyway? And… why don’t you like the city? And, well, I suppose I have a lot of questions.”

“Don’t worry bud, I can answer ‘em for ya. Just follow me.”

Sterling was led inside the building, no idea what was in store for him.

* * *

After Ghoul dragged the stranger away, Kobra was left outside with his brother, both of them worrying.

“I don’t know what we’re supposed to do about a nameless guy who has little to no memory. But it was very good of you to bring him back here. You’ve got a good heart, Kobra. Don’t forget it.”

“Thanks… I feel like all he needs is some time and some connection. It may sound strange, but I think I was supposed to find him. He needs us.”

“I trust you. And I think you’re right. You always seem to know the right thing to do in situations like this, you’ve just gotta trust yourself more.”

“I guess you’re right. Really I guess it doesn’t matter who helps, as long as he gets help, but I feel better knowing he’s with me. W-with us, I mean.”

He noticed Party’s devious grin and could tell that he’d quickly put everything together.

“Oh, with _ you _ , huh? I see. Maybe don’t get too ahead of yourself, though. You met him today and you don’t even really know him. _ He _ barely even knows _ himself _. Just give him time, alright?”

“Yeah, yeah, I know. Don’t worry. I’m not trying to do anything, I just think he’s… pretty is all.”

“Mmhm… well, just be patient, take it slow, and please, for the love of the Witch, remember that he’s hurt and he’s a guest and patient before anything else. You were so good to help him, but that also doesn’t mean that he owes you anything.”

He gave a sincere smile and Kobra could tell that he wasn’t really that concerned. It was just him deciding to be a mature older brother and give advice. Funny how he could always pull that off when it was most annoying.

“I’m not an idiot. I’m worried about him, but yeah, yeah, I’ll keep my hands to myself,” he laughed.

“I know you will, don’t worry. I just also know that you get attached easily. And this guy is definitely going to be no exception.”

“Whatever, let’s just get back inside and make sure Ghoul isn’t harassin’ him too bad.”

* * *

Kobra had said this guy was messed up, but _ Destroya _, did he really mean it. There was nothing too off about him physically, of course. He looked like your average person, or at least, your average Batt City citizen, once you scrubbed off the dust and dirt of the desert. And he didn’t look crazy or anything, not that there was a real look for that.

The guy was just… weird. It wasn’t a bad thing, at least not in ghouls mind, but it was still obvious something was up.

Ghoul spent a good deal of time just staring at the new guy; looking him up and down, studying him and his reactions, expressions, hand gestures, and everything else. But even while they talked and made a bit of idle conversation, still nothing. The only things he did that were in any way emotive were shrugging a few times, and once, frowning slightly, deepening the unhappy, or at the very least, neutral look to his face. Kobra was right to be worried. He’d seen a lot in his time, but this was definitely not one of those things. This was something new, and new meant bad. New meant changes and development, which meant the city was improving and creating new ways to oppress people who should be free.

The whole mission statement of BL/ind, as well as the goals of the city, had always, rather frankly, appalled him. He knew that a person shouldn't have to listen to orders and obey without an argumentative or disagreeing word to be accepted and validated, and especially not to be in good legal standings. It just wasn’t right, and this guy didn’t seem to get that. Even through all his problems, he seemed just fine with the city. Not really please, but not upset in any way either. It was strange and terrible. Didn’t he know or understand what they had done to him? Or at least that they had been the ones to do it?

“What’s wrong with you?” He asked unashamedly.

“Pardon me? I don’t think there’s really much wrong. Nothing that I haven’t already noticed.”

“Well, you really are messed up. I can’t quite put a name to it, but something is off. I don’t like it. Not that I don’t like you, or think you’re worth liking, I mean. Just that whatever’s going on with you is making me… unsettled.”

“I’m sorry.” His expression was still stoic and unapologetic. 

“Thank you, but I’m having trouble believing anything you say to me. I can’t trust someone when they look back at me with zero visible emotions. I have nothing to work off of other than the content of your words. Even your tone of voice is flat, though not as much as Kobra’s.” Ghoul smiled and looked at him expectantly, but he showed no signs of appreciating the humorous jab at his friend. 

“Geez man, you freak me out…”

“I’m not trying to.”

“I know, I know, it’s just-“

“Stop pestering him so much, Ghoul.”

Kobra walked inside and interrupted.

“He only just got here and he was clearly in a bad state when I found him, maybe lay off a little?”

“Fine… But I want to know more. I’m asking later, and you can’t stop me.” He gave a devious little grin.

Yeah, I’ll let you keep believing that.”

Ghoul walked off, leaving Kobra to deal with this weird stranger on his own.

* * *

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Once again, sorry for being so late in the day... oops. ;D  
As always, I'm open to discussions, ideas, critiques, suggestions, comments, questions, and anything else here and on tumblr; starman-trashcan  
Hope you enjoyed!<3  
I have ideas for where the story is going, but the stuff between the developed ideas is difficult. Getting from point A to point B is much easier said than done.  
The play I'm in is this weekend, so I won't have much writing time, but I'll do my best, and jot down any ideas I get offhand.  
Feedback of any sort is appreciated (I know I kinda already said that lol) but I thrive off of knowing that people are even just seeing my work.  
I love you all, have a good day/afternoon/evening/night/ungodly hours/whatever it is for you when you see this! <3


	4. It's Easy to Sleep

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kobra has some things to work out. Sterling sleeps... a lot.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Dang, this chapter felt a lot longer when I was writing it vs when reading it...  
Despite that, here it is, for your viewing pleasure!
> 
> Thanks to Ax for beta-ing and being a cool person! <3
> 
> Enjoy!

* * *

“You tired?”

“Yeah. Is there somewhere I can rest?”

Kobra sighed internally, glad the guy was honest about that. He didn’t know what he’d do if he had to try and coax the truth out of him. He probably should stop referring to him as ‘the guy’ too. He had initials at least. 

“We’ve got some beds. You can take mine, though I want to make it clear, I’m probably going to watch over you or rest with you, just to make sure you’re okay. If you’re not okay with any of that, please, let me know.”

“No, that’s fine. I understand that you’re concerned.”

Concerned was definitely a word for it. Bewildered was probably more accurate though. 

“Okay, right this way, then.”

He led him to the rooms, glad he was actually going to be able to watch him. His worries immediately decreased. Though… only a little.

“Just here?”

“Yeah. The bed’s all yours for now. But eventually, I’m going to need to sleep.” He sat in a chair near his bed for the time being, and carefully pulled out the folded up blanket that he kept underneath. “You might need this.”

“Oh, thank you.”

He nodded and sat back went to get some water for his guest.

“So, he’s pretty weird, huh?”

Kobra jumped slightly then realized that it was just Ghoul again.

“Huh? Oh. Yeah, I guess. He’s still getting used to it out here. I think it could easily be some weird side effects of withdrawal. Destroya knows it didn’t affect all of us the same, not with all the crazy stuff they gave us. He’ll likely be back to whatever normal for him is in no time.”

Ghoul laughed, which would usually be comforting, but for some reason put him more on edge.

“If you say so, Snake Kid…” 

“Shut up. I need to get him this water. Don’t know how long he was out there just laying in the heat. Didn’t look sunburnt or anything, but you can never be too careful.”

“Yeah, alright, go ahead.”

He went back to his room, Ghoul following him, and saw that J.S. had fallen asleep already. He set the water on the bedside table, which was really just a milk crate turned on its side, and debated sitting down in the chair again.

“Man, you’ve really got a thing for him don’t you?”

“Wh-what? No, I don’t. What makes you say that? We don’t even know him that well.”

“Well, for one, he’s in your bed, though you’d probably do that for anyone who needed it. But the biggest tell, I think, is that he’s got your blanket on. I assume you let him use it, right?”

“Yeah, but what’s that got to do with anything?”

“You rarely even let Party use that thing if the two of you aren’t sharing, and he’s your brother. I know how it is to you, though, I guess I don’t really know _why_ it is. But the fact that you’re so willing to let him use it when you don’t even know his name, that’s probably the biggest sign you could give unless you wrote ‘I have a crush on our stranger guest’ on your face in permanent marker.”

“You don’t know anything, idiot. You’re way over-analyzing the situation. It’s just a blanket, it doesn’t mean anything.”

“Uh-huh. Sure it doesn’t. And neither does that redness in your face.”

“I’m just angry at you.”

“That one I’ll believe, but you still can’t convince me that you don’t like him. I bet as soon as he’s back to normal, you’re gonna ask him to be your boyfriend,” he laughed teasingly.

“I am not! I wouldn’t do that.”

“Yeah, yeah, you’re right, you wouldn’t. Probably. But you still look almost as red as your jacket,” he quipped, then walked out of the room.

“Idiot…” Kobra muttered under his breath, then sat down in the chair, ignoring everything in him that told him to argue some more, and the parts that told him sitting here while the guy slept was creepy. He was just concerned, that was all it was! Totally. He just had to convince Ghoul. And probably his brother too, come to think of it...

* * *

Sterling woke up confused. 

He didn’t recognize his surroundings at all, and he didn’t know how he got there. Why wasn’t he at home, waking up to his nice white ceiling and loving family?

He sat up, panicked, and looked around. Seeing a chair next to the bed, he studied the sleeping figure sitting in it and recognized him. Kobra Kid. 

That’s right, he was hurt, and he was brought to this strange place with even stranger people. 

As quickly as he’d began to panic, he was suddenly completely calm and he remembered everything about how he got here. Mostly. Still only memories from when he met Kobra up until now.

He had no idea what he was welcome to do here, so he resigned to sitting there, waiting for Kobra to wake up. He lay back down but kept his eyes open.

Sometime later, he saw Party walk in. He looked at Kobra and at him, smiling almost knowingly, seeming not to notice that he was awake. After one more glance, he left, quietly closing the door.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

He woke up again to Kobra and Party having a quiet conversation next to him, neither of them paying attention to see him wake. He didn’t remember falling asleep, strange. He must have been more tired than he thought. He remained quiet and listened while they talked. Though it wasn't his conversation to hear, interrupting wouldn't be good either.

“Ghoul already said the same thing. Why can’t you two lay off? It doesn’t mean anything.”

“Kobra, you’re my brother, I know you. And that means I know how to tell some of the things you hide behind your mask of neutrality.”

“You don’t have to talk so fancy. It’s annoying when you do that. You can talk to me like a human you know.”

“Fine, how about this? Grow up and get a grip. I don’t care if you like him, but watching you deny it at every turn is already getting old, and it’s only been like a day.”

“...I just don’t want to do anything wrong. We don’t know what’s going on with him, and I don’t want to make anything worse.”

“I’m not saying you have to tell him. I’m just saying you need to stop hiding it from us. You need to admit it to us, and yourself, even if you don’t to him. Yet.”

“Alright, fine. You want to hear it? I think he’s pretty. I don’t really know much about him, but I want to get to know him. I want to be the reason he gets better. He’s just a stranger, and I don’t quite get it, but… I can’t help wanting to get close to him. Happy?”

“Very. Kobra, that was so sweet. When you’re both ready, he deserves to hear that. I’ll never understand why you hide behind that guise of having no emotion. I love seeing your true self. I miss it.”

“Geez, you’re makin’ it sound like I’ve changed or disappeared or something. You don’t gotta be so dramatic.”

“But if I don’t, then who will?!”

“Nobody, Party. Nobody’s got to. It’s one of your quirks though. Makes you who you are. Love ya, weirdo.”

“I love you too," he laughed, "and don’t forget to let _yourself_ be who you are too. Don’t hold back, alright?”

“Alright.”

“I’m gonna go see what Ghoul’s up to.”

“Okay, you go do that.”

He heard Kobra laugh, and watched as Party left, closing his eyes as Kobra began to turn back to him.

He heard Kobra’s voice a second later.

“Still asleep… What are we supposed to do about this? He doesn’t even know that Better Living’s bad… how do I teach him? Just…”

A long pause.

“Don’t get distracted. Chill. He doesn’t need more on his plate. Not like this. Just… be friends, and if more comes… ugh, it won’t though. Stupid, stupid, stupid.”

A light hand on his face.

“What happened to you in there…?”

The bed dipped as Kobra sat on the edge, now silent.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Sterling felt a hand on his shoulder.

“...and I know you’re worried, but you need to calm down! He’s been asleep for a while, yeah, but it’s not like he’s dead.”

He opened his eyes, finally ready to really wake, squinting at the bright light. “Wha-what’s going on?”

“See, he’s fine.” Ghoul said, and he found that it was his hand that was on his shoulder.

Kobra walked over, looking concerned. “Are you?”

“What, okay? Yeah, I am. I think so at least.”

“Thank the Witch.”

“So…” Ghoul butted in, “ if you’re feelin’ up to it… Maybe we could talk? There’s still more things I wanna know.”

“I suppose I can try?”

“You don’t have to, though.” Kobra turned to Ghoul, putting a hand on his arm. “We don’t need to interrogate him. Not so soon after waking up.”

“I can answer anything you’d like to know. As long as I _know_ the answers. Go ahead.”

They both exchanged a look, then turned back to him.

"Alright..."

* * *

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hahaha sorry, this felt like a good place to leave it. They'll get to learn stuff next chapter! And yall might even learn stuff too!   
We're finally starting to get into the plot lol  
How would people feel if maybe after the next chapter there was a time skip, so Chapter 6 would take place after 5, but not directly following, in the way that they have been so far?
> 
> It's a thought. Might not even do it, but we'll see!   
Love you all! 
> 
> And as always, feedback in literally any form is very appreciated and wanted, tumblr is starman-trashcan  
<3


	5. Way I Was Before

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A look into the past. And hope for the future.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey! Happy Tuesday! It's chapter time!  
I wanted to post this sooner rather than later, so I couldn't wait any longer. Therefore; this chapter hasn't been beta-read. Oh well! Thanks to the loves of my life though, even though they didn't read it yet XD  
I hope you enjoy! <3

* * *

****As annoyed as he was, Kobra was secretly glad that Ghoul was so curious and impatient. He wouldn’t admit it, but he was anxious to hear as much more as he could, and hopefully figure their guest out. Maybe even if they couldn’t learn anything about what had happened, they could at least get to know him better. While solving this strange mystery might be more satisfying when it was done, gaining a friend would be much better in the long run, and would probably be important for figuring things out, if he was being honest.

“So…” he began, “ask away.”

Ghoul immediately and excitedly started them off. “Why are you so… blank?”

“Blank?”

“Yeah, like, why’re you emotionless? You don’t react to anything by more than responding. No expressions, no emphasis, just a blank face and a flat, empty tone. It’s not normal.”

“I don’t know.”

“Do you even… feel anything? Like, not feel as in touch, though I guess that too, but feel as in emotions. Can you just… not express them, but they’re there, or are you just entirely devoid of them?”

“I… think I can feel. I want to. Something’s just… wrong, and I don’t know why.”

Kobra decided to ask some of the things he’d been wondering.

“Do you remember anything from the city? Maybe not even recently, but… anything at all?”

“I… I actually think I do. I hadn’t really thought about it before, or tried to remember any of that, but… now that you ask, I think so.”

_ Thank the Witch… _

“So, tell us whatever you remember.”

He nodded.

“I remember… school.”

* * *

_“-And so, the good people of the city banished all the scum to the unliveable desert, and now we can live happily in our peaceful utopia.”_

_ He raised his hand. _

_ “...Yes, <strike>Sterling</strike>?” _

_ “You said we live peacefully now, but what about the killjoys that come in and cause trouble sometimes?” _

_ “Well, the city handles them. They are not an issue that we as citizens need to worry about. If it does concern you, you could look into a career with the S/C/A/R/E/C/R/O/W Division and contribute to the removal and extermination of desert-dwellers. It is a very respectable profession. I have informational materials for just this situation. Please pass them out to everyone.” _

_ “But-” _

_ “No ‘buts,’ Mr. <strike>Jiménez</strike>. These were already scheduled to be distributed next week. You asked the question, it is only logical that you would pass them out.” _

_ He nodded and stood from his seat, walking up to his teacher, who produced a stack of paper folders from a drawer and handed them to him. _

_ “Thank you. Make sure that everyone receives one.” _

_ He passed them out, not placing one at his own desk. As he finished, he noticed that he only had one extra, debating with himself if he should put it at his desk. Before he could make up his mind, the teacher spoke again. _

_ “Is that an extra?” _

_ “Um… y-yes?” _

_ “I was provided exactly as many as there are students. Who did you fail to give a folder to?” _

_ He froze, realizing he couldn’t get out of this, despite having no interest in the information. _

_ “M-myself…” He prayed that his teacher would simply instruct him to take it, though deep down he knew what was coming. _

_ “Why did you not give yourself one? You seemed so concerned with the killjoys who terrorize the city.” _

_ “I… I forgot because it was my own desk?” He lied. _

_ The teacher peered over their glasses suspiciously. “... I see. Please do not let it happen again. I’ll give you the benefit of the doubt and let you off with a warning. This time.” _

_ “Th-Thank you!” _

_ “And please, _ _I’ve told you I don’t know how many times; Stop stuttering and speak professionally in the classroom.” _

_ He nodded in lieu of a response, not wanting to risk the same thing happening. _

_ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ _

_ “Hey… <strike>Sterling</strike>, come on, it was just a movie.” _

_ “Yeah, I kn-know… but it was really good.” _

_ “If it was really good, why are you… crying?” _

_ “Because…” _

_ “Because what? You’d better stop before the lights come up, or you’re gonna get in trouble. It was a happy ending.” _

_ “I just… I don’t know. I really liked it, and this music is nice.” _

_ “Music? Are you seriously crying over music? Music doesn’t even hurt!” _

_ “It’s not just the music, it’s all of it. The story, the ending, the music- everything!” _

_ “Well, save the crying for something else. I don’t need us getting questioned a third time in as many days.” _

_ “Sorry, Nash…” _

_ “It’s okay. Now wipe off your face and make sure you’ve got everything.” _

_ “Okay. To the park next?” _

_ “Yeah! Push me on the swings?” _

_ “Is that even a question?” _

_ They both laughed as the credits finished and the lights turned on shortly after. _

_ “Hey, your face isn’t even red. Good job.” _

_ “Thanks, I wasn’t crying all that long, so it just took a quick swipe of my sleeves.” _

_ They smiled at each other and left the theatre, walking across the street to the park. _

_ “Hey, uh, Nash?” _

_ He spoke quietly as he pushed the swing, aware that even in places like this, it was hardly ever entirely private. _

_ “Yeah, <strike>Sterling</strike>? Everything okay?” _

_ “Um, yes, mostly. But, uh, there was something I wanted to talk to you about. You’re my best friend… and I’d trust you with anything.” _

_ “Hm? What is it?” _

_ “I… uh, don’t laugh, or report me, or anything, okay?” _

_ “Okay…? But why would I need to report you?” _

_ “Just… listen. I… don’t really l-like being a guy. I don’t want to be.” _

_ “Well, you have to deal with it, then. It’s who you are, and you can’t change it.” _

_ “But… I want to change it.” _

_ “You can’t though. And you’ll get in trouble if you do anything about it. There are specific guidelines for a reason. You can’t just… I don’t know... wear a skirt, or get earrings. You may not like it, but you are a boy, and you need to do what boys are supposed to do. You’re my friend, and I don’t want to see you get in trouble. So please, don’t act on that.” _

_ “I won’t… If you’re so worried, then I’ll make sure to be careful. Thanks for listening at least.” _

_ “No problem, what are friends for?” _

_ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ _

_ “Hey! Crybaby, over here!” _

_ “What do you want? Shouldn’t you be doing homework right now?” _

_ “Maybe, but I can do that at home,_ _ hence the name, duh.” _

_ “Well, I’m trying_ _ to study. It’s called ‘study hall’ for a reason.” _

_ “You already do fine on every test. You can study later.” _

_ She grabbed the notebook from his hands and threw it to the side. _

_ “Listen to this then, you don’t belong, and you’d better study to fix it, or you’re gonna fail the test. Nash is normal, he doesn’t need you hanging around and corrupting him. Either let him go or let go of your weakness. You’re just a burden to others, looking for attention. Why don’t you shut up and fit in like everyone else instead of causing trouble for everybody you cross paths with.” _

_ “Oh, Kennedy, can I have a go at him?” _

_ “Obviously. Just be careful. We don’t want to break him… the poor fragile thing,” she teased, smirking. _

_ He picked up Sterling’s notebook and flipped to the back where there were writings and drawings he’d done for fun, and began ripping them out, most of them coming out in two pieces. _

_ “O-Owen… stop it!” He was sniffling, tears pouring down his face, and Owen stopped, throwing the vandalized notebook back, right at him. _

_ “Just look at him,” Kennedy purred patronizingly, “crying like he’s been beaten up over a few sheets of paper. They’re not even that bad. A little tape and it’ll be good as new. Can’t say the same for his taste is stationary though.” She laughed and tossed him back his pen, short and pale purple with sparkly stickers wrapped around it. “Can’t act like a boy in even a single little way. Pathetic.”_

* * *

“Wow. So… You haven’t always been like this.” Ghoul looked dumbfounded.

“No. I haven’t. I just… am now for some reason.”

Kobra wracked his brain for some explanation. “What could’ve happened? Was it the pills?”

“Those barely did anything for me. Not to do anything like that, at least. I don’t know what it is.”

Huh. That was certainly a mystery to be solved. Intriguing. But also quite frustrating.

“Wait, so… Do you not want to be called ‘he’? Because you told me earlier that you did.”

“I’m… not sure. I know that it’s right to be a ‘he,’ but that memory, as well as something inside, are saying something else. I suppose I can figure it out with time.”

“That’s fair. Hope you figure it out, man. Uh, dude? B-buddy? I never realized that all the nicknames I default to are so masculine…” Ghoul seemed embarrassed, trying to come up with something better.

“No. It’s fine. Those names are fine. Thank you for being so considerate.” 

The corner of his mouth quirked up just a hint, and Kobra saw a glimmer of something in his eye. The emotions weren’t gone. Just… buried, it seemed. He’d work to get to them, no matter how much work it took, or how deep he had to dig.

...Oh. Party and Ghoul might be right. Maybe he was a little bit… crushing. 

No! Just… interested in him. And curious. Maybe…

“So, that’s what you were like, but what are you like now? What’s going on in that brain of yours? We should go do something, just a normal run out for some supplies or something, and you can be who you are while also learning who we are and what we do.”

“That’s not a bad idea. I’d be happy to do that,” he said, not sounding anything but monotone.

Ghoul made eye contact with Kobra and winked, then turned back to the conversation. 

“I think Party already had something for me to do. He needed a bit of help on a project. Why don’t you two go together though?” 

Great. Just what he needed. The meddling of their resident rat. He made a mental note to get back at him later.

“Sounds good. Let’s go to the car if you’re up for going right now?”

He nodded and got up. “Yeah. Lead the way.”

* * *

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What'd you think of the flashback? I hope those looks into his life were sufficient, despite not all being the best situations for him.
> 
> What? Me projecting my own identity struggles onto a character? Never! Perish the thought!
> 
> But uh yeah... so I'm still not sure about the time-skip idea I entertained. It might happen, it might not, and it might just happen later than I anticipated. I just don't want to feel like I'm skipping anything important.
> 
> Talk to me! I love people! tumblr: starman-trashcan Alternatively, comment here! Or, I also have a discord! Fluffle Universe#3529
> 
> Enjoy your week! I'll see you next week, same killjoy time, same killjoy channel! <3


	6. Picked Out a Spot

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kobra and Sterling go out on their run.  
Kobra doesn't come back with Sterling.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ahhhh its Tuesday! Yet again I barely got this ready on time and definitely came down to crunch time, but next week's is already in progress and mostly planned, so hopefully, it shouldn't be too bad when that time comes around!  
Not beta-read; my normal beta said nah XD Love you still, Ax! 
> 
> Thanks to everyone who's been reading, commenting, talking to me, etc! I really appreciate it! Even if you're just reading, you're still super valid and I love you! <3

* * *

Sterling was out in the desert with Kobra, a trunk full of supplies, sitting outside of the car out in the middle of nowhere, practically, after Kobra had woken him when he dozed off.

“You missed the sunset…”

“O-oh. Sorry.”

“It’s fine, there’s always more, I just wanted you to see. They’re always pretty out here.”

He only had a vague idea of what he meant by ‘sunset,’ but the name made it obvious. In the city, once the sun went behind the city walls, it was nighttime, even when the sky overhead still had some light. It was usually nice pastel colours of light, but often too cloudy to see more than a pale blue or purple. It was probably better in the desert.

“I’ll have to watch tomorrow night, then.”

“Yeah, and at least we can still see the night sky now.”

He hummed in agreement, and looked at the darkening sky, but was met with a strange sight. White glimmering dots, scattered all over. He had no idea what they were, or why they were there, or why such an odd thing wasn’t making him worried or anxious at all, but they were just… pretty, whatever they were.

“What… what’s all that?”

“Huh? Do you… not know?”

“Should I?”

“Well… yeah, I- oh. I forgot. You can’t see them from in the city, can you?”

“I’ve… never seen them before, so, I assume no. What are they?”

“Stars. They’re the stars. Balls of light, thousands and thousands and millions of miles away, in space. Twinkling dots that show up at night. I believe that the Witch put them there as hope for all of us out here; a reward for those who live their lives freely, and something for anyone else who comes out here to see and hopefully will decide to stay because of. I think there’s some people who believe that’s where people go when they die. They turn into stars to light the way for those they left behind. No matter what you believe though, they’re beautiful. Beacons of hope.”

Sterling looked up at the sky, gazing in awe. They were so beautiful, Kobra was right. He could barely think of a way to describe it, but… it just all felt right. Like this was exactly where he was meant to be. Here, staring up at the sky, surrounded by quiet, and dark, and peace, in a way that he’d never been before. There was never such perfect and blissful moments in the city. They just didn’t happen. Especially not with his life. He remembered the blinding white. The constant conversations, moving, busy work. It was all just a distraction from how imperfect it all really was, he realized now. If they didn’t want to improve life, but they didn’t want anybody leaving, them they had to keep them so busy that they’d never realize how much they were missing. That there was so much out here that they could be experiencing instead of the strict routines planned out by better living officials. But here, now, he could see, really see. He was never meant to be in such a place, among people who didn’t understand him, who ridiculed him, cast him out, made life a nightmare for him. He was meant to be out here with the rebels, with nature, with the stars! It all made so much sense, that he was supposed to be somebody else; somebody great. He was supposed to be a killjoy! He was filled with joy at the prospect, hardly believing that his dreams of finally being okay might become a reality. If it weren’t for the weirdness going on, he was sure he would’ve  felt his heart swell with joy. Though, of course, it didn’t. He knew in his mind that he was overjoyed, but he just couldn’t get that message across to his body. No matter how he felt deep deep down, he was still cold inside, trapped in that fog.

“You okay?”

He jumped and turned to his right to see Kobra. Oh. Right. He’d almost forgotten that he was there. But how could he? With all those colours, he was nothing like Sterling had ever seen before. He was the first person he’d met out here, and already he was working so tirelessly to make sure that everything was okay for him. That was just so kind and selfless. How did he do it? And why? Sure, he recognized that he needed help, he was self-aware. But he did not need a guard or a constant protector. At this point, it felt like he might volunteer himself as a shield for Sterling at any moment. But, as sweet as that was, it wasn’t what he needed, what would be best. Was it? At this point, he actually wasn't sure. Nothing really made sense right now. But he would figure it out. Eventually.

* * *

Kobra watched… J.S., that was still such a weird way to refer to anyone… as he stared up at the sky, the reflections of the stars twinkling in his eyes as he surveyed them all. The look on his face was heartwarming, and his face, how the light of the sky hit it in some places, and in others it was shadowed heavily, creating a nice contrast, and good definition of his features. His face was soft and young, which made him realize that he didn’t actually ever ask him his age, if he even knew, and had just assumed that they were around the same age. In the dim light, with the way he was so in awe of everything above them, he looked more childlike, and that was enough to convince him. They were definitely not far in age; he couldn’t be older than his late teens. That thought made his heart hurt a little. Someone as young as he is, going through all this pain, such a confusing situation, not even remembering anything recent? That just wasn’t right. He didn’t deserve all this going on. He deserved to be able to relax; to actually be happy and to enjoy the fact that he’d made it out of the city, into freedom. He couldn’t even have the whole spectrum of emotions in such an important part of every killjoy’s life, That just wasn’t right. His face overall still showed no emotion, but those eyes… Kobra swore he could see into forever in those eyes. Even if he wasn’t smiling, his eyes were as happy as he’d ever seen anyone. The emotions within him rose to the surface, even if only in a small way, and it was beautiful. Or, not beautiful, just… interesting. That was it.

He looked so lost in thought though too, and his eyes got sadder. That wasn’t right.

“You okay?”

He jumped slightly and looked at Kobra, not saying anything in response but clearly back to reality. It didn’t last long, however, and he was back in his head again. Though… he was still staring right at Kobra, and he felt himself blush. It was normal, zoning out while looking at someone and looking like you’re staring, even though you’re not… but… even knowing it was normal, he felt awkward. He waited, watching, taking in his face and expressions, admiring him as long as he could, while also making sure he was still in his head and not noticing the way that he was just looking, kinda creepily. Soon enough, he turned back to the sky, Kobra doing the same.

* * *

But, the stars. He could be powerful and beautiful individually, while also being with everyone else and finally happy, like the stars. He looked at a pair of stars that were right next to each other and smiled, or it felt like he had. The closeness of them made him happy and hopeful for the future. Maybe he’d be able to have someone, eventually. A girlfriend would be nice. Though, he probably wasn’t in the right place for anything like that right now. He could barely get himself to feel more than subtle simple emotions. That would take many more complex feelings that he didn’t believe he was currently physically capable of. Still, the thought of it was really nice and comforting. Even if he couldn’t have that, he could still have friends; still grow close to people, especially those who had been so kind as to take him in.

He leaned his head on Kobra’s shoulder, still staring at the sky. He thought he felt Kobra vaguely tense, but it could have been a heavier breath or a yawn impacting the way he moved. He just didn’t want to upset him or cause him any stress, not when his own situation was enough stress and worry for everyone.

“I really like the stars…” he whispered. “I feel like I’m meant to be with them in some way.”

“Maybe… they can become part of your name?”

“What do you- oh. Yeah. Maybe. It would be nice. It could be the ‘S’ of those initials if you still think I should go with them.”

“Oh, yeah, that’s actually a good idea. I don’t know what to have with a ‘J’ though. There’s not many ‘J’ words. And so even less that might go well with that, or that would feel right to you.”

“I suppose you’re right. It’s definitely something to think about though. If… you think is a good idea, that is?”

“Oh! Yeah no no, totally! I really like that idea. Kinda wish I’d thought of it… But really, it’s good!”

“Okay. If you think so. It’s just-”

“Jet!”

“Huh?”

“Jet. That’s a ‘J’ word. Like, a plane. And sometimes the lights from a plane look like… artificial stars. Sorry… it was stupid. The way you said ‘just’ sounded like it, and my brain kinda… I dunno. It put the pieces together.”

“No, I… I like it. It fits really well I think. Thank you.”

Kobra gave him a small smile and turned away a little.

“So, um… if you put them together, then your name would be-” 

“Jet Star. Yeah, I… really like that. Thank you again, Kobra.”

“S-sure thing. No problem…”

Sterling-- _ Jet Star _\-- yawned softly and Kobra turned to him.

“You sound tired. We should get you back to the diner.”

“Uh, oh. Sure. Sleep would probably be a good idea…”

Kobra helped him to the car and got in, driving back. As they drove, Jet tilted his seat back, staring through the top window at the sky, the thousands of points of light staying almost still overhead as everything else rushed by around them. He glanced over to Kobra just as he’d glanced away from the road to him, and they met eyes. Jet just barely smiled at him, but he was grinning on the inside. He saw some surprise and happiness in his eyes before he quickly looked away and refocused on driving. His face seemed slightly pink too, and Jet hoped he wasn’t sick or overheating. He didn’t worry about it too long and went back to admiring the sky.

* * *

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hahaha, I hope you all weren't too worried about the chapter summary. I felt clever with that one. He doesn't come back with Sterling, but he comes back with Jet!  
He has his name now!!! Yay!!! :D  
I feel like this chapter wasn't very long, but then I looked at the word count again and realized that it's just because it all takes place in one location within a relatively small window of time that it feels shorter...  
Hope you enjoyed! Please, as always, I'd love feedback!!! Tumblr: starman-trashcan  
Have a good day, and remember... BE GAY, DO CRIME!!!!!!! <3


	7. It's Not a Real Heart

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kobra makes and shares a discovery.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Earlier posting today! It's a snow day and I got this done yesterday so I just had to post it earlier!  
I hope you enjoy! <3  
Thanks to Ax for beta reading this chapter and also for buying me that flag! I owe you my life!!!

* * *

When they finally pulled up to the diner again, Jet was asleep yet again. Kobra wasn’t sure if he’d be welcome to carry him in, even if it did mean he’d get to keep sleeping, so just to be safe, he shook him awake gently.

“Hey, we’re home. You can have a good night’s sleep once you’re inside. If you stay in here, you’ll bake once the sun comes up.”

“Mmngh… ‘m awake… need help with th’ stuff…?” 

“No, I can bring it in on my own later, or better yet, get Ghoul to do it.”

He helped Jet inside, where Party was leaning up against the side of a booth.

“Hey,” he said with a smile, “how’d it go? Get everythin’ you went out for?”

“Yeah, and more.”

“Oh?” Party stood up straight and moved closer to the two of them in interest. “What’d you get?”

“A name.”

“What? What do you mean?”

“I  _ mean _ …” he shifted to keep Jet from falling asleep leaning on his shoulder. “…that our friend here has a real name now.”

“Wait wait wait- Really?! That’s awesome! What is it?” He was looking expectantly at both of them, reminiscent of a puppy. 

“You tell him. C’mon.” He lifted his shoulder to nudge his friend again.

“Hm? Y-yeah. It’s Jet Star.”

Party smiled brightly and hugged him. “That’s a really cool name! I’m super proud of you man!”

“Thanks…” he hummed.

“Alright, I’m gonna take sleepy here to bed before he falls asleep standing up and wakes up with sore legs, or something.”

“Heh, sounds like a good plan to me.”

“And don’t you forget to sleep, alright? I’m not afraid to force you to sleep if you won’t willingly.”

“Yeah, yeah, I got it. I’m just waitin’ for Ghoulie to fix the power so I can make sure  _ he _ goes to sleep eventually too.”

Kobra looked around and suddenly realized that, yeah, it was darker than usual. They typically only used candles when they could, but there was also usually at least a main light on in the sitting area. 

“What happened?”

“Generator stalled and there’s too much sand an’ stuff in there to get it back on yet.”

“Well, best of luck, and, please, both of you, get some sleep.”

“No! Reverse uno!” He pulled an old, worn card out of his pocket and threw it at Kobra. It hit him in the arm, bouncing off his sleeve and to the floor. He picked it up and put it in his own pocket, sighing. Party was stubborn as always.

“Night,” Kobra said with a sigh.

“Yeah, you too, you two,” he smiled.

* * *

Kobra practically had to drag Jet to his room and into the bed, he was so out of it. He was barely standing on his own, but he seemed fine, so as long he would actually sleep in the bed and not pass out in the middle of walking, he was sure he’d be fine. 

“Hey, uh, I’ve gotta sleep too. You don’t mind if we share the bed? If it bothers you, I can share with Party; it’s no big deal.”

“Hmm? No, ‘sfine… go ahead. ‘S your bed…”

“Th-thank you.”

He got on the bed, practically falling off the edge, but it was worth it if Jet was comfortable; he seemed a lot more tired than Kobra felt. Once he adjusted some, he pulled the covers over the both of them, being careful so as not to wake him. He shouldn’t have been surprised how easily Jet slept, but he was. Or, really, he was more worried. Even so, laying here with him was calming, and he couldn’t find it in himself to be worried for too long, not when they were this close to each other. 

He was still awkward about getting closer, but he really didn’t want to fall, and if it bothered Jet, well, he would hopefully just tell Kobra later. For now, though, he figured it couldn’t hurt. His head resting on his chest, he listened to Jets breathing, as it slowly lulled him to sleep. He moved a little closer, and what he heard changed. He must’ve moved to the right place to hear his heart more than his breath. Suddenly, he wasn’t as close to falling asleep. This... didn’t sound right. Not too fast or too slow, or a broken rhythm, but... just wrong. It didn’t sound like a heartbeat, not a natural one. It sounded... mechanical. More like a clinking or ticking than a beating and thumping. He’d have to ask him about it when he woke up. The more he thought about it, the more it seemed like it could possibly be the answer to Jet’s... problems. Hopefully bringing it up could even jog his memory! 

With newfound hope, he smiled, curled closer to him, and drifted off to sleep.

* * *

Jet woke slowly but quickly realized that he was alone. Hadn’t Kobra said he was going to actually sleep in his own bed? Why wasn’t he here? Where had he gone? He hadn’t already gotten up, had he? It would probably be a good idea to check, actually…

He got up, untangling himself from the blankets, and brushing the wrinkles from his clothes as best as he could. He really needed to get a change of clothes. Maybe even… something like the others wore? Something colourful and bright, made of all sorts of fun materials with cool patterns? Maybe. It was a thought, at the least. He didn’t even know where he’d get clothes, whether they were white or not. If he was staying with them, at least for now, he’d need a place of his own to sleep too. Then he wouldn’t have to share or to sleep in his clothes, which weren’t the most comfortable for it. He missed pyjamas. He vague remembered sitting at home in them, talking to… someone. 

He pushed aside his thoughts and confusing memories as he continued into the main dining space. Kobra was there, with Ghoul and Party, eating food, presumably breakfast. Kobra wasn’t looking at him, his brow furrowed in thought, Ghoul was on the other side of the booth, his back to Jet, and Party looked up and smiled when Jet came into view.

“Hey, Kobes, look who it is,” he said, lightly jabbing his elbow into his brother’s arm, causing him to look up from his food in surprise, likely more from being forced from his thoughts than from seeing Jet though.

“O-oh, hey Jet. Um… sleep well?”

“Yeah. I did. I can’t see any reason that I wouldn’t. Why?”

“Just asking. You’ve been sleeping a lot. No… bad dreams, or nightmares, or anything?”

“No. Not that I can remember. Should there be?”

“Oh, no. It’s good that you can’t remember having any. I didn’t wake up in the middle of the night to you screaming or anything, but you can never be sure, so I figured I’d ask.”

“Ah. I see.” He walked over to sit with them, Ghoul scooting over to make room, and looked at all of them. There was something… off. They were all looking at him weirdly, kind of expectant, or hopeful. It was as if they had been waiting for him, but… not just for him to be here.

“Is everything alright?”

“Yeah,” Ghoul said, “or it would be if Kobra would actually say what he needs to…”

“What do you mean? Kobra? What is it?”

He remained silent, and Party decided to speak for him. “He  _ means _ that Kobra told us something, and we were hoping you could give us some insight.”

“Uh, what did he say? I don’t have insight on much, so I doubt I can be of any help.”

“We know, but since it involves you, it’s not outside the realm of possibility.”

It involves him? What could it be? Nothing bad, he hoped.

“I… uh, last night, after you were asleep…” Kobra cleared his throat and looked intently at his can of food. “I heard your heart.”

“...And?”

“Well, it… it didn’t sound like a heart should. It sounded… fake.”

“Fake? I don’t understand.”

“Your heart wasn’t beating; it was ticking, clicking, whirring, humming, clanking! That’s not normal, and I’m worried! We-  _ we’re _ worried.”

Party put a hand on his shoulder calmingly, likely to keep him from yelling any louder than he already was. 

“He told us that it didn’t sound right and that maybe it had something to do with why you’re… like this.”

“L-like…” he felt vaguely offended but knew they wouldn’t be able to tell. Curse whatever this thing with his emotions was. Or… wait. “Oh. You mean that. I don’t know. It might?”

“It doesn’t ring any bells, does it? Nothing clicks in your mind when we say that?”

“Uh, n-not really? I guess maybe there’s something, but it’s more of a feeling deep down than anything I can really remember or even articulate.”

“Oh.” Kobra sounded disappointed, his energy from mere moments ago instantly deflated. “I just thought… I hoped we might have a lead. Maybe we could get somewhere with this.”

“Hey, it’s alright. I want to figure this out too. I don’t like being this way. We’ll figure it out eventually, and even if that doesn’t help right now, it may be useful later. And really, its very kind of you to be so eager to help. Thank you.”

“Aaaanyway, now that the conversation is done, do you want some food? Ya need t’ eat.” Ghoul held out a can to him along with a can opener.

“Yeah. That’d be nice.” He smiled a little and gratefully took it, not realizing until it was open how hungry he was. After a few bites, Jet looked back up and saw them all staring at him, wide-eyed and slack-jawed. “What?”

“You smiled. Like, really smiled.”

“Oh. I guess I did.” He smiled again at that.

* * *

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> :D  
I don't really know what to put in the notes this time around, but uh, did you like the chapter? Gimme your thoughts!  
Feedback always appreciated!! Though I'm sure you knew that much by now!  
Tumblr is starman-trashcan


	8. Think It Through

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jet improves. The others think about what this means.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Uh... so... we back!  
Sorry about the two-week break with no notice. Writer's block hit for just this chapter specifically and I only got it done finally yesterday. It's still short though... so, sorry about that!  
Not beta-read, wish it was but I don't have the time haha...  
I hope you enjoy!   
Should be back to weekly posting after this, but we'll see. Fingers crossed!

* * *

Party felt himself absolutely gawping at what had just happened, but couldn’t bring himself to stop. Jet just… 

“You did it again! This is amazing!”

“Is it? I feel like I’ve been smiling before…”

He rolled his eyes. “Well maybe it seemed like it, but you weren’t. This time you really did! It’s fantastic!”

“I… yeah. That is good. But can I just… eat for now?”

“Yeah yeah, fine, but then we’re all totally talking about this and what it means, right?”

“Hey, back off and let the guy eat.” Ghoul held his hand out across the table and sternly poked his nose. 

“But it  _ is _ a big deal…” Kobra began. 

“Oh no, not you too. I am not having this. Now everyone, shut up and eat; we’ll have plenty of time to talk about things later. Seriously, there’s pretty much nothing but time out here.”

“Alright,” Party grumbled. He’d been told before by Kobra that he was impatient, but he’d figured it was just a sibling-rivalry-type thing. Hearing confirmation from Ghoul stung. Maybe… he  _ had _ been getting a  _ little _ overexcited about all of this. A moment of peace wouldn’t hurt. “Just… we need to address this at some point. It’s important!”

“Shut up and eat. I  _ know _ it’s important, but he only just woke up. Give it a rest for even a little, okay? You two need to calm down.”

“That’s rich from the guy who straight-up interrogated him when he first arrived.”

Ghoul got slightly red in the face, though whether from embarrassment or anger, Party couldn’t tell. “That’s different…”

“Oh, suuure it is. You’re just trying to hide the fact that you’ve had more questions than any of us, right from the start.”

“I- no I haven’t! I’ve had a perfectly normal amount. This whole situation is just so weird. You can’t blame me for wanting answers.”

“No, we can’t, but I think we all could ease off on the questions. The only one who really needs to know this stuff and be figuring it out is Jet.”

He sighed. “Yeah… you’re right. Sorry Jet.”

“Hm?” He’d completely stopped paying attention and was fully focused on his food. “It’s fine. I can handle a few questions. As long as I can choose when you hold off on them, I’m good.”

“I- okay…” Party relaxed and sat back again.

“You’re just so amazing, y’know,” Kobra mused suddenly. “I mean,  _ it’s _ amazing. How far you’ve come already. I’ve been worried about you. Whatever’s going on, whatever happened? We can handle it. You can beat it.”

“I don’t just want to beat it, though. I want answers.”

“You will. I promise.”

“Kobra-”

“Yes, Party. I know I need to stop making such big promises. You only tell me every time. Can it for now though, would you?”

He shut up and occupied himself with staring at the ends of his hair. It could use a re-dyeing soon.

“Thank you…” Jet said, almost a whisper. “I don’t know what I’d do without any of you.”

“Sure thing,” Ghoul said, his mouth still full.

Everyone laughed, and Party noticed that Jet cracked another smile, just faintly. He would be okay.

* * *

Ghoul was worried.

He was seated up on the roof, doing a few final checks on the generator, while half-watching the scene below.

Party was sitting on the hood of the car while Kobra worked on the undercarriage, just his long legs sticking out. Jet was seated in the sand a few yards away, not really doing anything. He couldn’t tell from up there so far away, but it looked like he was probably lost in thought. With everything going on, and all the mysteries still up in the air of what happened to him, that probably wasn’t the best idea. 

He did one last look over of the machinery, then climbed down the ladder and pile of things to get down, running over to sit with Jet.

“Heeeyy! Jet, how ya doin’?”

He jumped slightly. Definitely had been lost in thought, then. “What? Oh. Hi Ghoul, what did you say?”

“Just asked how you’re doing. You looked spacey. Everything alright?”

“Oh, yeah. Just… trying to remember.”

“Don’t push yourself too hard, huh?”

“No, no, I won’t. I just figured… since I’m improving some, maybe I’d be able to access more relevant memories, something that would help, or even just some semblance of an answer. You know?”

“Yeah, I get it. I still think it might be too soon for that, though. You should just enjoy having a new life, not having anything holding you back from living in a brand new way.”

“But don’t you get it? This mystery  _ is _ holding me back. I can’t be free to enjoy all this until I get some closure.”

He sighed, putting a hand on his back. “You need to let yourself relax though. This whole thing is important to you, I know that. But the answers will still exist, no matter if you figure them out now, or in a month.”

“I just want to know. There’s something wrong with me and I don’t know what it is, or why it’s happening. It’s upsetting. I can’t even properly feel or communicate my emotions. I just don’t understand it!”

“I know, I know. It’ll be okay though. Do you want to talk about it?”

“I… I guess? Like, the things I remember, or try to say how I feel, or what? What do you mean?”

“Anything. I’m just here if you want to talk.”

“Oh, thank you. I don’t know if I want to right now though… Nothing against you, I’m just not feeling it. It’s too warm out here, I’m gonna head inside.”

Jet stood up and started walking back in, turning to look at him again. “And really, thank you.”

“Sure thing. See ya.”

* * *

When Kobra came inside, Jet was asleep, sprawled across his bed. He smiled fondly, he was adorable asleep. But, just the same way Ghoul or Party were; when they’re finally getting the rest they need, and not wreaking havoc, that’s all.

Though… Jet doesn’t wreak havoc, and he certainly doesn’t need that much rest, or he shouldn’t. He’s gotten so much sleep already. Should… should they be worried about this?

No, he thought, probably not. But, it would still be a good idea to keep an eye out. It could just be a side effect of whatever else happened in the city. If it persisted, then they could worry about it, but right now, Kobra just wanted to sleep.

He carefully moved Jet over and got in bed, making sure to keep a little gap between the two of them, but apparently, though asleep, Jet had other ideas. When Kobra got in, he moved closer, closing the gap and leaning into his side, appearing happy.

He was probably only moving toward the body heat the Kobra was emitting, but even with that in mind, and knowing how likely it was, he couldn’t help but smile a little bit. It was so endearing. Though really, everyone is endearing when asleep, so, that was completely normal. Definitely. In any case, he could deal with it in the morning. Or later. Or never. Though never probably wasn’t an option, especially considering Party’s tendencies to meddle.

Oh well. He turned over onto his side to finally sleep. Hopefully, things would get better for Jet, and for his own emotional situation.

* * *

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, there we are! Sorry it's short...  
Next chapter will take place later; after a timeskip, by the way, so be prepared!  
Always willing to hear feedback of all kinds! Questions, comments, suggestions, support, and even just conversation whether related or not! You can talk to me here, or on tumblr at starman-trashcan  
Love y'all, and see ya next week!


	9. How I Feel

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jet's been at the diner for a while now. Kobra decides it's time to get something off his chest.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Note: This chapter takes place after a timeskip, so it's not immediately after the previous chapter.  
Happy Birthday to the platonic love of my life, Ax! You're super amazing and the reason I'm not dead by now.
> 
> Oh, quick warning, the dialogue gets a bit repetitive in this one because I show the same scene from two different points of view.  
Also, warning #2: Finals are next week and I need to work on my Gift Exchange submission, so the next chapter won't be for 2+ weeks. We'll see how it goes exactly though...
> 
> Enjoy!

* * *

It had been about a month since Kobra had found Jet out in the desert, and he was finally getting used to being here.

His emotions were still buried and near inaccessible. The small bit of progress he’d made early on seemed to have been it. Smiling was better than nothing, but he still wanted to be able to do more. It was reaching the point where not being able to feel and express his feelings was near-maddening. He just wanted to stop it all when every emotion was bouncing around inside his brain, building up below the surface and only barely able to be seen. Getting it all out would be such a relief, but the effort of even getting close to that point, though ‘close’ wasn’t really the best term, completely wiped him, taking all his energy and leaving him tired and no better off. 

The worst part, though, was seeing everyone else’s emotions and having no way to reciprocate or to respond internally or externally. It felt so weird, being around feelings and not picking up on them the way he used to. How did anyone live like this? He could say how he felt about things, sure, but it was only to a very small extent, and he wasn’t making the same deep connections he used to be able to make. His words held no emotion, no matter what he was talking about. He was grateful not to be monotone, but even if his voice retained the ability to convey tone, it still wasn’t right. It wasn’t normal, wasn’t his voice. It wasn’t how it should be. Not anywhere near it.

He did have a room of his own now, though he was sleeping on just a mattress on the floor rather than a complete bed, but he was perfectly fine with that. Just having somewhere else to sleep that wasn’t in the way was great. He missed being able to be next to someone, but he could do that during waking hours, so it was no major loss.

He’d been spending time with all of them, being accepted happily into their lives, learning more about them, having nice conversations, and even going out on runs a few more times. Throughout all of that, he’d learned more about himself too; remembering things slowly, filling in a few gaps. But all of those memories, like always, were from further in the past than was helpful. He was frustrated. He wanted answers more than anything. But it seemed it would have to wait. At least he had a nice place and nice people to wait with. It would get better, hopefully.

* * *

Today was the day. Kobra was finally going to tell Jet that he… he loved him. Because, really, he couldn’t deny it any longer. After one more talk with both Party and Ghoul, he’d realized that the way he’d been handling this wasn’t healthy. He’d now admitted it to himself, but the important thing, possibly life-changing thing, was admitting it to Jet. 

Jet had been improving so much, and it was extremely heartwarming. Okay, maybe not improving as much as any of the would like, but it was there. Telling him would help let him know that he was truly improving, truly welcome with them, that he was wanted, even through a difficult time that they could all see was upsetting him.

Kobra just wanted him to feel accepted, and even more so, loved.

The two of them had been spending a lot of time together, and though he knew Jet couldn’t show it, he had a feeling that he liked him back, at least some.

It was time.

* * *

“Hey, uh, Jet? Can I come in?” Jet looked up to see Kobra standing in the doorway. 

“Yeah, of course.” Really he didn’t think Kobra even needed to ask, but he appreciated it nonetheless. Kobra was his friend and would always be welcome, in his eyes. He smiled at him as best as he could, and Kobra smiled back, walking in and plopped himself down on the mattress next to him. 

“So… I wanted to talk to you about something, if you’ve got a moment.”

‘When don’t I have a moment?’ He thought to himself bitterly. ‘It’s not like I really do much around here. I’m not even much help.’ He pushed those thoughts aside and forced his small smile to remain as he joked. “Sure. I’ve got all the moments, really. There’s not much going on.”

“Yeah… let’s hope it stays that way.” 

“Now, what did you want to talk about?” He tried to get Kobra back on his train of thought, looking at him intently. Whatever he’d come to talk about was more important than worrying.

“Oh, yeah, um… well, you’ve been here for a while now, and I think we’ve really gotten close…”

They were definitely close. Kobra was his favourite of any of them to hang out with. He was just so easy to talk to, and he really seemed to get Jet’s struggles with emotions and just the whole situation in general. 

“Yes, I agree. You’ve all been so nice to me, you especially.”

“I… thanks.” He looked almost embarrassed for some reason. Well, then he needed to get better at taking compliments. Though so did Jet. “Well, I think I’ve known for a while, but… I need to tell you. I can’t keep this to myself any longer.”

What was he talking about? What has he known? Was he about to spill some big secret? But he would definitely go to his brother with any secrets before Jet. He’d probably go to Ghoul first too. But he began by mentioning how close he and Jet had become… It just wasn’t adding up. Time to see where this was going. He wondered what was going on in Kobra’s mind through all of this.

* * *

“Hey, uh, Jet? Can I come in?” Kobra was standing in the doorway of Jet’s room, fingers tapping anxiously on the doorframe, where Jet couldn’t see them. 

“Yeah, of course,” he smiled. That smile… he’d come a long way for that smile, and it was so wonderful. He loved it. And loved Jet. He had to say it, so he steeled himself and walked in, sitting down next to him. 

“So… I wanted to talk to you about something, if you’ve got a moment.”

“Sure. I’ve got all the moments, really. There’s not much going on.”

“Yeah… let’s hope it stays that way.”

“Now, what did you want to talk about?” He sounded very expectant and it may have been Kobra’s imagination, but he seemed a little hopeful too.

“Oh, yeah, um… well, you’ve been here for a while now, and I think we’ve really gotten close…”

“Yes, I agree. You’ve all been so nice to me, you especially.”

“I… thanks.” he could feel himself blush. “Well, I think I’ve known for a while, but… I need to tell you. I can’t keep this to myself any longer.”

He hesitated and looked at Jet’s face for any sign of recognition. Jet just looked mildly confused, so he went on.

“I’ve been thinking about it a lot. Thinking about  _ you _ a lot, actually. I… I really like you, and I think I love you.”

Jet was staring at him, eyes wide,  _ not saying anything _ , which might be a bad sign. He hoped it wasn’t though.

He slowly stood up, so Kobra joined him, hoping that this was what he had been waiting for. This was it. It had to be. He was going to return his affections, and they’d support each other, and they could both be happy and he could help Jet even better, and everything would be amazing and happy and- 

And… Jet pushed past him, bolting right out of the room without a word.

Oh no.

* * *

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oof. Sorry about the cliffhanger. And don't forget, I'm taking a break for finals and other writing, so you've gotta wait even longer!!! (I'm sorry about that, but that's just how it goes...)
> 
> Another big birthday wish to Ax, the best person I know despite all their crimes XD
> 
> As always, I love to talk to people, so don't be afraid to message me on here or on tumblr! (starman-trashcan)
> 
> Enjoy your mid-Decembers! Hopefully, I'll get the next one up soon. The beginning has been planned/written for a while, but it still needs more work, and things with set deadlines take priority...   
Love you all!!!<3


	10. Disappear

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kobra has to find Jet and talk. But first...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay this one’s a little shorter than usual but it’s still good.
> 
> Happy Holiday season!! It’s Hanukkah and tomorrow is Christmas, and I’m not sure exactly the dates of other things, but it’s that time of year!!
> 
> I’m very sick and miserable but thankfully I had this written early so I didn’t have to agonize over it too much!
> 
> Oh also; vague warning:  
I’m sorry.
> 
> Enjoy!!!

* * *

Kobra just stood there for a moment, shocked, trying to process what had just happened. Then he heard the familiar chime of the small bell on the diner door, and was snapped back to reality.

He had just confessed to Jet, and… he ran away. He hadn’t known for sure if it would go well, although he definitely hoped that it would, but he never expected him to tear out of the place like that. Why… why had he run? It didn’t make sense. Maybe he just needed some time alone, but… he  _ ran away _ . Whether or not he meant it to, that hurt. Maybe he could still fix this. It wasn’t like he could take it back, but he could at least figure out what was wrong, and  _ then _ give him space if he needed it. But he wasn’t going to let Jet just do that with no explanation. That just… it wasn’t fair to either of them, and it was plain rude. Impulse or not, Kobra needed some closure here. He had to go find where he’d gone. He had to know. They could y’all about it, and it would be okay. But only if he could actually find him.

* * *

Party was sitting with Ghoul in a booth of the diner, his legs laid overtop of Ghoul’s, while they both listened to the radio. Doctor Death Defying had given a traffic report about an hour ago, and now was playing music. The report was about typical for a regular day; normal amount of drac activity, said where the travelling market was currently, and listed off a few other bits of news. The only big thing for any of them to worry about was that one of the drac sightings included an uncertain sighting of an exterminator car. That happened from time to time, and while it wasn’t unusual, it was never great either. Not knowing if there really was one out was frustrating, and it made it hard to prepare.

“Think they’re gonna end up near us?” Ghoul spoke over the music, looking at Party while playing with the tape on his boots.

“Hm, maybe. We can take em though. Besides, we’ve got one more addition to our group. More people means better chances, you know this.”

“Yeah yeah, but even so, Jet’s still new, and just ‘cause he’s got a blaster, it doesn’t mean he’s good with it. He hasn’t even made it a habit to carry it with him yet.”

“It’ll all happen in good time Ghoulie. Now, shhh. Just enjoy the music.” He pulled Ghoul closer and kissed his forehead right by his hairline. He wrinkled his nose slightly, laughing. Ghoul’s hair was getting grosser than usual. “You need a shower. You’re starting to smell like a rat rather than just looking like one.”

“Hey, shut up! You have no room to talk. Your hair is basically  _ made _ of grease.”

“Okay, okay, fair. But still. We need ta hose ya off sometime soon.”

“Nah, I can just stick my head in a bucket of water and shake it dry. Like nature intended,” he grinned stupidly.

Suddenly there was the sound of heavy footsteps, and Jet came thundering through the room. He tried calling out to him, but he just kept walking- or, actually, it looked like he was running. That was odd. He ran right outside, the bell dinging after him.

“That was strange. Think he’s okay?”

Party turned to look back at Ghoul, whose eyebrows were drawn tight together in concern. “I mean, I hope so. He was running, yeah, but… maybe he just wanted some fresh air? I don’t think my brother is the type to scare anyone away, even with his perfected scowls. And he’d never scare Jet, anyway.”

“I’m just… worried. He was having a really nice day earlier, and he deserves one.”

“I know. Don’t worry so much. I’ll tell ya what, if he’s not back in a few minutes, you can go after him, alright?”

Ghoul nodded and relaxed slightly, and Party got up off of him, going to his own room. It was a pretty hot day, but the tiny increase in anxiety was enough that he had an itch to go put on his jacket.

* * *

Kobra ran out, crossing paths with his brother, who seemed to be heading to his room with purpose so he didn’t try to stop him. 

Ghoul was sitting at a booth with the radio, glancing out of the corner of his eye at the front doors.

“Did you see where Jet went?”

“I saw him run past and go outside, but past that, I don’t know.”

“Okay, I’m just really worried. Thanks.”

“No problem. Do you want help looking?”

“Uh, no I don’t think so. I’ll let you know when I find him though.”

Before he could head out, the sound of engines could be heard outside loudly, clearly and suddenly close, and Ghoul and Kobra immediately looked at each other.

“Better Living.”

It had to be them, as much as he hated it. If it were another killjoy, they would’ve heard the approach as the engine got louder, but BL/ind’s vehicles were quiet. They could be loud on command and would give exactly the effect they’d just heard.

“Wait, if they’re out there, and Jet ran outside…”

“Party!” Kobra and Ghoul called in unison as the realization dawned on both of them at once. They needed all of them out there.

Party ran out with his jacket on and gun in hand, obviously having heard the engines too. He looked around, then looked to Kobra, a little nervous.

“No Jet yet?”

He shook his head.

“Okay. We’ve still got this. Let’s go.

* * *

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hahaha sorry I enjoy cliffhangers and pain...... probably a little too much...
> 
> Yeah I know, I’m terrible, but you love me and you know it!
> 
> I’ll try to get the next one up next week but if I keep being sick, it’ll be harder to work, so we’ll see...
> 
> As always: talk to me!!! My tumblr is starman-trashcan and I’ve been really bored lately so I’ve been posting more and I wanna talk to people and get feedback more!!!  
GIVE ME LOVE!!!  
Appreciate me pleeeeaaaasssseee! 💖💖💖


	11. An Emergency

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This is bad. This is baaaaaad!!!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I’m baaaack! (For how long who knows)  
Thanks to my girlfriend, the platonic love of my life, and another super amazing friend for beta reading and giving help and suggestions on this chapter!  
Enjoy! And I’m sorry!

* * *

They filed outside, and Kobra nearly dropped his gun at the sight. 

He’d hoped it would just be Dracs. Realistically expected Scarecrows. But… this? This he definitely didn’t expect or want. Standing in front of them all, as intimidating as ever, maybe even moreso, was the exterminator, Korse. He would’ve been a threatening sight on his own, but what made it worse was that he wasn’t alone. Yes, a few Dracs obviously trailed him, as always. But standing to his one side, his wrists behind his back as Korse held them in one hand, was Jet Star. Korse’s other hand was clamped over Jet’s mouth, but they all knew it could get to his gun in plenty of time to attack, especially with the Dracs all standing with guns out and ready. 

He wanted to kill Korse. Correction; he wanted to do worse, but he’d settle for a quick kill if it would get Jet safe.

“Hello, killjoys.”

“Korse.” Party spat, clearly full of as much rage as Kobra was.

“Usually I hate our little… run-ins-”

“They’re no ‘run-ins!’ They’re planned and calculated, and you know it!”

“All I  _ know _ , is that this is not our typical encounter. I see you have a new addition to your team…” he tugged Jet’s wrists slightly as he mentioned him, and Kobra’s anger came to a boil.

“You get your hands off of him, and give him back!”

“Oh, I see… You think he’s yours to keep.”

“Well he’s not yours, that’s for sure!”

“That’s where I beg to differ. You see, I find this visit to be rather fortunate, seeing as I’ve come across a previously-thought-to-be-failed experiment. They’ll be so happy to find out that not only did it work, but he’ll be back in our hands for anything we need.”

“Stop talking about him like he’s a possession! He’s a person. Now leave us before we have to hurt you.”

“Oh… I know you won’t shoot. If you start a firefight, your friend here might get… accidentally caught in the fire. You listen to me, killjoys. You will let me leave, without a fight, and with Subject 1, here.”

“You’re insane if you think we’d ever do that. You can’t just take him!”

Korse gave an absolutely dreadful smirk and Kobra almost lunged at him right there. But he waited, stayed silent. He sat and stewed, more accurately.

“Ah, but see, it’s a fair trade. I don’t hurt you, you give me back what is the rightful property of Better Living Industries, we are both happy. Really, I don’t see a problem, considering that we both know how much worse this could go. For you, I mean, of course.”

Party was still fired up, and Kobra was more than content to let him keep talking, worried what he might end up saying.

“You don’t know anything! Taking him  _ is _ hurting us!”

“I see… very well then. I suppose you’re just going to have to be hurt, then, now won’t you?”

His condescending tone was just nearly too much for him. If Korse said anything more…

“I’m taking the subject back with me no matter what, so you’d best give up now. It’s not worth your time, really. You’ll get over it.”

That was it. He’d probably gone too far a good while ago, but this was the last straw.

“Shut. Up.”

“Pardon?”

“I said shut up! You don’t get to talk about him like that! He’s worth any fight you could give us. Nothing you can say will make me give up. Now, give him back, and  _ maybe  _ you’ll be able to leave this place with your life still intact.”

He laughed.  _ He had the audacity to laugh. _ Okay, it was  _ on. _

Kobra drew his blaster and pointed it right at Korse. It was still set to stun, but he didn’t have to know that. He was ready for a fight, he was ready to blast some Dracs. Nothing could quench the fire of his rage. This guy was going down, and he was sure that Party and Ghoul would stand with him as he fought to get their friend back. Nothing. 

Except… Korse just forcefully pulled Jet in front of himself, so that Kobra’s blaster was aimed at  _ him _ instead, pulling him back to reality. Right. He mentioned how Jet might get hurt if they fought. So… what were they supposed to do? Realizing defeat of his planned attack, he lowered his weapon. He turned around to look at Party and Ghoul, wondering what they could do.

It was only after he heard a muffled cry did he realize that them all letting their guards down was a bad idea. He should’ve noticed. How could he be so stupid? This wasn’t like any of them, and it was his fault.

They all turned back around to see Korse handing off a now unconscious Jet to two of the Dracs, who pushed him into the backseat, and got back out to rejoin their third, all three ready with guns in an instant, as well as Korse. They were outnumbered now, but all three killjoys still aimed against their foes.

“You get one more chance,  _ rebels _ . Put your weapons down and we won’t fire. But I will not hold back if you choose to attack now. Be wise in your decision.”

Kobra glanced around to either side. Both of them wavered in their confidence, but nobody lowered their weapons. It seemed they would have a fight on their hands, then. That was okay, they could handle this.

Kobra fired the first shot, but not by much.

The fight was finished before he even knew it. Korse had a smoking hole in his leg, but that was about the only hit on him, somehow. Kobra himself was more hurt than that, sadly. He’d taken a shot to the shoulder and been grazed along the side of his forehead. Party was clutching one hand in the other, and there was a graze on his stomach that Kobra only saw because it had cut his shirt. Ghoul was on one knee, still paying attention so he wouldn’t get his head blasted, but putting pressure on the wound he somehow managed to get in his foot. 

The three killjoys were no longer in fighting condition, and as Korse reholstered his gun, looking proud, it dawned on him- and he cursed himself for not thinking any of the past few minutes through fully- this was exactly what Korse has wanted. 

Before Kobra even had the chance to say as much, the three Dracs and their superior all piled into the sleek black car and drove off.

He had half a mind to scream out after it, but that wouldn’t do any good. 

They had failed. They- no,  _ he _ \- let Jet get taken.

He’d failed him.

* * *

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hahaha sorry again!!!  
As always, I love talking, please talk to me!!!!  
Tumblr is starman-trashcan  
<3


	12. Now I See

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jet's been taken. They're gonna need a little help getting him back.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey look! A new chapter! Shocker!  
Me, getting it posted at a reasonable time? Unthinkable! And yet, here we are.  
There's a lot of dialogue in this one, but oh well!  
Thanks to Ax! They didn't beta-read this chapter but I will always give thanks anyway! (I really do love the haircut!)  
Okay, and with that; on with our story! Let's get back to these crazy desert kids and see what they do!

* * *

Jet was gone. 

Just...stolen. Right in front of them.

They had to get him back. But… how?

Ghoul looked around, taking in the conditions of their team. They were all injured. He couldn’t walk without excruciating pain, he saw the smoke rising from Kobra’s shoulder, and the trickle of blood down the side of his face, and he saw how Party was wincing, holding an injured hand. 

How were they supposed to go get Jet back if they were too hurt to hold their own? 

He was debating the answer to that question in his mind when Party spoke up quietly.

“We should go back inside, regroup, and figure this out. It’s… it’s going to be okay.”

“How can it be okay?!” Kobra yelled. “Party, you can’t say that, not when Jet is gone. He just got taken! Kidnapped right from here! And we couldn’t stop it! If we couldn’t even fight off Korse and a few Dracs, what are we supposed to do if we have to go to the city, hurt, and fight off an army of em to get him back?!”

“We… we’re not going to the city…”

“What?!” Ghoul yelled along with Kobra, not even realizing that he had until Party looked at him.

“I said…. I said we’re not going.” Kobra tried to say something but was cut off by his brother continuing. “Wait. Hear me out.”

Kobra looked at him critically, and Ghoul was sure his face didn’t look much different.

“I know some people, and they’ve usually got at least one of their members prepared for a fight. They sometimes even have someone in the city. We can get in touch and get their help. We could use the assistance in our states. Is that alright?”

“Sounds good to me. Kobra?”

“I… I guess. Do you trust them? Where’d y’all even meet?” He sounded skeptical.

“Um, well, honestly? At a bar…”

“Hold up, you said they’re usually prepared for a fight. They’re not some rowdy drunks, right?”

“No, no, they’re all fine. How we met doesn’t actually mean anything. But I really do trust them. I know they can help. What do you say?”

Ghoul mulled it over and decided it was worth a shot. It wasn’t like they could do this themselves. “Yeah. Alright, I like this idea.”

Party nodded and then both of them looked over at Kobra for his response.

“They… these people… would they be up for it even if they knew they’d be directly dealing with Korse?”

“Yeah… or, well, I think so. If not, I can be really convincing.”

“Fine. Just, hurry, okay? It’ll be better if they can intercept the car before it gets into the city rather than have to go in.”

“Great! And yeah, I agree. Don’t you worry, it’ll be okay.”

Party rushed over to their two-way radio and made a call out, using all sorts of code phrases to prevent any enemy listeners from understanding that this was a call for help and not something more mundane, then spoke a name Ghoul had only heard in passing and in some stories Party had told, not having a face to put to it. 

“...calling out for a Lavaburst. Burst, come in, if you’re out there on the waves, come in.”

* * *

Jet Star was freaking out. He woke up in a car, squished between two Draculoids. Another one was driving, and someone he didn’t recognize was in the passenger seat

It was clear to him very quickly that something was wrong, but it took a bit for the pieces to click. Long enough, in fact, that it hadn’t until the person in the passenger seat had turned around and found him awake.

“Ah, good,” they sneered. “I was hoping you’d be up before we had gone very far.” 

“Where am I? What’s going on?”

“Oh, you silly little thing, so confused, what a shame that is. For you. But I can tell you things. All you want to know.”

“Who are you?” 

“I am Korse, greatest exterminator of Better Living Industries. But I can sense that what you really want to know, is who you are. I know everything that you’re wondering, and I can give you the answers you want, for a price.”

“Price?” 

“Yes, there is a price.”

He tried to ask him more but he was cut off. 

“Don’t ask. You must agree before I will give you any of those answers.” 

“Fine, tell me the price.” 

“You will return with me to the city and help us with the research that we are doing.”

Going back? He thought about it, knowing he had somehow gotten out once, so he saw no reason he couldn’t do it again if it came to it And he wanted answers more than anything. “Okay. I agree to your terms. Now please, tell me what you know.” 

“Oh, so polite you are… I shouldn’t be surprised, but it’s so fun to see.” He started talking to himself. “Knowing that I was the one who found you. And they thought you were gone for good. They thought you were dead, but I found you! It’s simply wonderful.” 

“Please, just tell me.” 

“Fine, fine, I suppose if I must. You belong to our fine company.” 

“That’s… that’s not true. Don’t lie to me, please.” 

“Oh but you see, I am not. This is the exact truth. You promised me, so I am holding up to my promise to you. And what I know is that you are the property of not only Battery City, but also of Better Living Industries as a company. You should consider yourself _very_ lucky, young man, really. Not many citizens get to claim such a high honour, and most are officials such as myself. This is a rare thing.”

He couldn’t believe what he was hearing.  _ Property _ of the city. The city was awful, he’d learned that by now. He had to have left for a reason, so… maybe this was it though. Maybe he wanted to be free from such a tight hold. That would make sense. 

Korse continued. “You are a valuable asset to our research. It’s not easy to replace a subject like you.” 

“Subject…? 

“Yes, yes. Oh, I suppose I’ve forgotten to mention. You are a test subject. A new care method has been in the works for your special case. We’re simply here to help. We want to give you the proper care to fix your problem.” 

“Problem? Do you mean my heart?” 

“I...Yes. I do. Your…” Korse paused, seeming to be thinking. “Your heart condition is most severe. It’s a miracle you were able to survive in the brutality of the desert for so long. You are weak and at risk of becoming more damaged.” 

“Well, I have been sleeping a lot, I guess that has helped.” 

“Oh, lethargy… that is not a good sign. Has it been happening more or less frequently as time has passed?” 

“More.” 

“Oh no, no that is not good at all. We will have to fix that immediately.” 

“It’s not okay?” 

“No, it’s not, but just relax. Don’t get too worked up or you may cause some irreversible damage.”

“I don’t think getting too worked up will be an issue…” 

“Oh?” 

“Well, I haven’t been able to really… feel things properly, much less express them. It’s terrible.”

“Ah, yes, I can see how that would upset you. Or, make you wish you could feel upset, I suppose.” 

This man sounded so sad for him, it was touching. Maybe he’d really left because he didn’t know that there was something wrong. Maybe he’d been misinformed. This would be so much easier if he could just have his memories back. He couldn’t really remember anything from before he got here either, but it was probably better not to worry about it.

“We will get you back to the city, then, and you will be taken care of wonderfully. Everything that’s wrong will be fixed. Don’t worry, my boy.” 

“Thank you very much, sir.” 

“It’s my pleasure. That is what I’m here for, to exterminate all of the problems and all of your worries.” 

This was great. He was finally going to be okay thanks to this man. He felt all his worries melt away. Or, maybe that was all his senses, as, with just a small sharp pain, everything went black.

* * *

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Heheheh..... I'm not done with the cliffhangers yet! (sorry not sorry!)  
So, the conversation with Korse went, uh... well, didn't it...? Sure.  
And I hope you're excited for some new characters! They're the creations of Ax and yours truly! I'm very excited!
> 
> As always: (you know what's coming) I am very lonely and I love to talk with people! my DD tumblr is starman-trashcan
> 
> blease.....  
i desire human contact  
or alien contact, i'm not picky...


	13. (Don't) Need to Think

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Help has arrived. Jet’s scared.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sup lovelies! It’s that time once again! My continuing mission: to keep adding more to the plot and make you hate me!!! ;)  
Don’t worry though, really.
> 
> Thanks to @pinkstationhero on tumblr for beta reading this chapter!
> 
> Now, on with our story, let’s meet these new people...

* * *

Kobra knew his brother did a lot of things without him. Neither brother was very inclined to going out and meeting others, but going out meant drugs and alcohol, two things that had always been surefire ways to get Party’s attention. So he knew Party went out to gatherings, and bars, and clubs, and all sorts of events, but somehow it never really occurred to him that it meant that Party knew other people. He didn’t really think about it that much. It was never a major part of their lives; the brothers hadn’t even met Ghoul because of anything social, so he just didn’t take the time to consider it. So… putting his trust in people he’d never even met, who could easily be drunks, or addicts, or even just terrible people? He didn’t know where to begin. Party trusted these people, so he would trust them too… if this were a normal situation, that is. But it wasn’t. He wouldn’t be putting his own life into the hands of these people; he’d be trusting them to help Jet, who was in danger, knew even less about the desert, and wouldn’t be expecting anyone unfamiliar. It just seemed too risky. But… what choice did they have? They’d have to brief these ‘joys as soon as they arrived and send them off as quickly as they came to have any chance of beating Korse to the city… And Kobra knew that none of the residents of the diner were in any condition to do any of this themselves. They were all badly injured, just three killjoys sitting in this room waiting for help that only Party even knew. So, it seemed that he had to put his faith in these people, if even only for one mission. 

It seemed no sooner than he had made his decision that two bikes pulled up, one person on each. He was immediately anxious again as they approached, but he couldn’t exactly leave.

The two killjoys walked into the diner, the first very tall and confident, which intimidated Kobra even more. They had long, flowing, red-orange hair, their clothes were bright and flashy, and they pulled down the sunglasses on their face to flash a wink at Kobra when they saw him standing off to the side. He startled at being noticed and attempted to ignore them, though it was useless—they had already seen him watching.

The person who trailed in behind them seemed a lot more… chill. They glided in, looking like they had no cares in the world. Their messy, spiky hair was bright green, almost glowing in the light that streamed through, really standing out against their ghostly-pale skin, and they ran a hand through it in what looked like an attempt to smooth it down, but all that happened was a bit of it fell into their face, and the shorter pieces on top remained at the awkward angles they stuck up at. As the orange-haired killjoy went to talk to Party, Kobra watched the new addition, though he probably should’ve been listening to the conversation. They paid him no notice, just watching the conversation before them with a cool smile, sticking their hands into the pockets of their silver jumpsuit, a fashion choice Kobra would’ve found odd if he didn’t see all sorts of crazy outfits like that from both Party, and from the races that the three of them would sometimes go see. He’d have to take Jet to see one of those if they got him back. _ When _ they got him back. He shook the thoughts from his mind and tuned into the conversation.

“...So we’ll go an’ try to get’cher friend from that car before it hits the city, an’ if we can’t, then I’ll send Ecto in to get ‘im out. How’s ‘at sound?”

“Wait, why wouldn’t you go in too?”

“He’s the one who’s speedy, an’ just sorta floats through places, unnoticed. It’s spooky. I’m not that great at being inconspicuous. An’ despite the hair, he’s great at it.”

“Well, alright… But sending him in alone seems dangerous.”

“If it goes south, I’ll bust my way in there an’ get ‘em both out.”

“Okay. I trust you guys.” Party now turned to Ghoul and Kobra. “So. Sound good? Burst and Ecto here’ll go and get Jet. It’ll be alright.” He sent Kobra a smile, one he hadn’t realized that he needed. 

“Yeah. Yeah, that sounds alright. Can I get a quick introduction before you two leave?”

Party smacked his forehead with his injured hand and clearly regretted it immediately. “Yeah, I’m an idiot, I forgot!” He motioned to the taller killjoy that he had been talking to. “Kobra, Ghoul, this is Orange Lavaburst, any pronouns, but it depends,” he moved over to the one with the green hair then, “and this is Ecto Cooler, he/him.” 

Then Party looked at them and motioned to Kobra and Ghoul. “This is my brother, Kobra Kid, and our teammate, Fun Ghoul.”

“Ah, finally some faces to the names. Sweet.” Ecto finally looked at Kobra and he saw that he had white eyes. He must’ve been wearing contacts, because his irises were almost pure white, and it threw him a little.

“Uh… n-nice eyes.”

He laughed aloud. “Thanks. _ Eye _ see you’re a little anxious. It’ll be fine. We’ll get yer man back.” He winked.

“What? My- He’s not my man.”

“Just a jab at ya, don’t worry. Now then,” he looked at Burst, “I guess we should be off, then.”

“Definitely. See ya, lovelies.” They winked again and put their shades back on, heading outside. Ecto followed close behind after giving Party a hug.

Party looked at his teammates and grinned. “Now we let them work their magic.”

* * *

Jet Star woke up again to the sound of yells and laser fire. Something was going on. A fight? Maybe. But he really hoped it wasn’t. There had been too much going on lately, he didn’t need anything else to worry about. Okay, maybe it wasn’t _ that _ much. But the more he thought about it, the more he saw that he had a lot to worry about. A lot to think about. He still had questions he needed answered. He still had the questions of who he was—and if ‘he’ was even the right word—that he’d been struggling with for so long and still hadn’t figured out. And… Kobra.

He had no idea how to approach that subject. He wasn’t sure if he wanted to. He’d been avoiding it for so long, so why now of all times was it forefront in his mind? There was so much else going on; he could see a bike—no, two bikes—following parallel to the car, and they were clearly killjoys. He didn’t know what it could mean, but if it was anything like he suspected it might be, he didn’t want this.

If something happened to Korse… he’d never get his questions answered. And, if something happened and he got taken back… well… the same went for that, but it would be worse. He’d have to face Kobra. He wasn’t ready for that, not after running off without a word like that. He still hadn’t even come up with anything to say in response! He had no idea how long was too long to have time to think! This was all too new to him. He just knew that he needed more time, and maybe more space. He supposed he’d probably have to tell that to Kobra. But… he still didn’t think that even that could go well. Kobra might be mad or say he waited too long, or he might not care about any of his hesitations. What if he didn’t listen? No. Kobra was much nicer than that. Jet knew that. Why was he thinking all these awful things? This was too much. He wanted to scream, to cry, to grin, to do _ something _ and let his emotions out. They were festering inside, bubbling below the surface, itching his skin, and he wanted them OUT. He didn’t know what to do or what was going on. Right now, he just wanted to go back to the city, and figure out what was wrong with him, and then maybe, he could go home, wherever that was, now. Was it in the city, the desert, somewhere else, if there even was anywhere else? He didn’t know. He just wanted to be okay, and he trusted Korse to help him.

It seemed increasingly more likely that he would still get the help he wanted though, as he felt the car speed up, the Dracs to either side of him, firing back at whoever those killjoys were, and warding them off. If they could just get away, then it would be okay, nobody would get hurt. The killjoys would be fine, he would get somewhere safe, and Korse would help to fix him. He didn’t want anyone hurt, but they wouldn’t stop the return fire. 

“St-stop… Don’t fire at them, just escape. Go faster.” He mumbled it but it seemed that they heard him anyway. 

Korse gave a quick hand signal to the driver, and another, which seemed to be directed to the other two, who then put away their blasters. The car went even faster, and he lost sight of the killjoys. He let out a breath, releasing tension he didn’t know he was holding in his shoulders and jaw. It would be alright now.

* * *

Following just far enough to be out of view on their small bikes, however, Orange Lavaburst and Ecto Cooler were still trailing the sleek black car, its dark colour visible through the dust clouds it kicked up, which provided them further cover and guidance at the same time.

* * *

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 👀 looks like they didn’t lose them yet... good news for our heroes!  
What will happen next??? Stay tuned! XD 
> 
> Orange Lavaburst and Ecto Cooler are OCs created by myself and Ax, (who now has a tumblr @corvi-of-the-raven) as part of our Hi-C Crew, inspired by the Capri Sun Squad made by @enby-partypoison and @funkobraofficial !
> 
> As always, I love to talk and answer questions and draw and write and joke, so please talk to me! @starman-trashcan  
Thanks for reading and I love comments!!!


	14. Look at the Walls

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Both pairs arrive at the city, and an interesting conversation begins.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Woah, look! Finally an actual update again! Weird.  
A big thanks to Pink, @hyperthrust on Tumblr, for beta-reading! 
> 
> This chapter is a little shorter than I would've liked, because the next scene is pretty long and I didn't want to break it up, nor did I want this to be too long either.
> 
> Hope you enjoy!

* * *

After a while, the car reached the city. Pulling up to the gates, Jet got a weird feeling, like he should be afraid to be here. But that didn’t make sense… This was where they could help him. Korse said that Better Living knew what was wrong, that they would understand. Nobody in the Zones knew what was wrong with him, so there was no way that he could be helped or understood. Being here would give him the answers he wanted. So… why did this feel so wrong?

He was so lost in his head that he missed the moment that they passed through the gates, officially entering the city. As they drove through the streets, it felt familiar, but in a strangely detached way. He saw citizens on the sidewalks stand up a little straighter and slowing their pace as the car approached them, and he somehow knew how they felt; scared and trapped, though they likely all relaxed once they’d passed by.

Approaching the center of the city, he had expected to feel happier and more excited than he did. Maybe the greatness of the situation would hit once they got inside.

As the car stopped and Korse got out, Jet suddenly was being pulled forcefully from the back by the Drac. He didn’t think much of it though; that’s just how they are with everyone. Though he wasn’t quite sure how he knew that. 

He was led into the building, surrounded much too closely by the three Dracs, trailing behind Korse, who walked with purpose. That confident walk made him trust the man more—he was clearly a powerful man with access to all the answers Jet could possibly hope for.

“You three are dismissed.” Korse commanded suddenly, snapping Jet back to reality, where he saw they had stopped in front of an elevator. 

The Dracs departed with haste, leaving Jet with Korse, waiting for the elevator in silence. It was not quite an awkward silence, but it was not comfortable or companionable either. 

When the doors opened and Korse stepped inside, Jet followed without a word. He had no idea what floor they arrived on—he wasn’t paying attention—but he once again followed Korse through the halls, until he stopped in front of a door with nothing distinguishing it from any of the others around except for a small panel of glass with wire encased at about eye level. He watched as Korse unlocked the door and opened it to a plain white room with a table and chairs in it. It smelled sterile and felt unsettlingly familiar, and alarm bells went off in his brain, but he went inside and sat down happily anyway. Korse locked the door behind himself and turned around. 

“So, shall we begin?”

* * *

Burst and Ecto followed behind the car the whole way to the city before pulling over when the car stopped at the gates, so that they could contact the diner and stay out of sight. 

“Burst, callin’ out for Poison, come in Poison.” 

The radio was nothing but static for a moment before crackling to life in the middle of a sentence. “-on your end? What’s going on?” 

“Didn’t quite catch that, would ya mind repeatin’ it, hon’? And calm down, I can hear your anxiety through the waves.” 

“Probably ‘cause I got Kobra breathing down my neck. But I said; What’s happening on your end? What’s going on?” 

“Ah. Well, we weren’t able to stop ‘em and so we followed the car to the city. I’m gonna send Ecto in like I said, an’ then when we getcher friend out, we’ll all head back asap. Shiny?” 

There was a pause. “Yeah, Burst. Shiny. Send him in, and both of you please be careful!” 

“Oh, you know you don’t gotta worry about us, Poison. Nothin’ can stop us ‘til the day we get the life sucked outta us.”

“That’s what I’m afraid of. I don’t want anybody else getting hurt.”

“It’ll be just fine. We’ve handled stuff like this before. He can take ‘em.”

“Alright… See you soon.”

“See ya. Signing off now.”

* * *

Sitting in a blank, empty, tiny, sterile room with Korse, Jet suddenly realized… this… it was… 

_ It was better than he could’ve hoped for!  _

A nice calm and quiet environment where he was safe to ask everything that he wondered about! Nobody was going to judge him, or try to sway his opinions, or give him funny looks when he mentioned the past here! Korse was an unbiased city official. This was perfect! Time to get some answers. But where to begin?

“Uh...what’s wrong with me?” 

“You’re going to have to be a bit more specific than that, I’m afraid.”

“Oh. Um, why is it so hard for me to feel anything?”

“Hm. I suppose I should give you a bit of information on your past. You don’t remember much, is that correct?” 

“Yes, it is. I only remember earlier stuff, and none of it is anything helpful.”

“Alright then. I will tell you how you came to be this way, then. It is a rather long story, you may want to get comfortable.”

“Uh, okay…?” He couldn’t tell if he had meant it to be a joke or not, but in a room like this, he didn’t see any possible way to be comfortable. If he was serious, though, he didn’t want to be rude, so he tried his best, adjusting in his chair and twisting until he was satisfied with his position, then looked at Korse expectantly.

“So, according to your records, it all began when you were young…”

* * *

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading! I hope everyone is doing awesome!  
Please give me feedback and support... I live on appreciation and validation of others...
> 
> My fandom Tumblr is @starman-trashcan and I'm always happy to talk there or here or anywhere! 
> 
> Have a great day and sorry that this took so long. I'll try to get the next one out in a bit more reasonable amount of time. <3


	15. Once I Was Him

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A familiar story... but something's off. And the next phase of the big breakout!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi! New chapter!   
I can't remember if it's actually a shorter one, but it feels short, so, sorry about that! 
> 
> Beta-read by the amazing Pink, @hyperthrust on Tumblr, to whom I'm super grateful!
> 
> Please enjoy! No idea when the next one will be up but I'll likely wait til after school's done for me, so, after mid-May.  
<3

* * *

<strike> Sterling Jiménez </strike> was always a strange child. He was a trouble to those around him; a burden to all who had to deal with him. Even when the re-education procedures failed, and the safety-blanket action of city-issued medication was not enough, he didn’t even make any efforts to correct himself. In a city where happiness is guaranteed to all, a citizen with such problems, and bursts, and extreme emotional tendencies was an issue.  He made his family and close friend uncomfortable and caused them to question things that would surely lead them to unhappiness and dissatisfaction, which is not what the company wants at all. 

Heroic doctors and engineers eventually stepped up, announcing that they would analyze the cause of his dysfunctional mind, and would devise a solution; a remedy for his illness. The researchers found that his heart had a defect, the result being an incompatibility with the standard methods that would regulate his emotions to a safe level. It also kept him from being able to recognize when he was going too far, so he could not stop himself. The solution was then proposed; a machine which would regulate those emotions for him, and would limit his ability to get ahead of himself, for his safety. He would no longer have to worry about stopping, as this device would stop for him. Once approved, the child was brought back again to undergo the procedure that would implant the device. It was made to remedy the defect in his heart, so it would be a delicate operation. By the end of it, the machine had been successfully installed, except for one little thing.  One last change needed to be made before it would be complete, but before that, the patient was stolen. 

Some killjoys had caught wind of the procedure, misinterpreting it as an experimental, dangerous, and nearly diabolical new form of medicine that was being tested improperly on the supposedly unwilling patient. So, in an attempt to be so-called heroes, they had broken into the city and ‘liberated the victim’. When they had arrived in the desert however, they discovered the truth and simply left him alone, not attempting to return him to the safety of the city. They, like the villains they are, left the poor, unhealthy patient with an incomplete treatment in the sun and sand to rot. 

With no food or shelter in such a terrible place, and in already such an unstable condition, he was assumed by the corporation to be deceased. As such a conclusion was sensible, no efforts were made to rescue him, as a mission doomed to fail would be a waste of resources and too much of a risk.

* * *

“This is  _ your _ story, my boy,” Korse clarified as his tale concluded. “I was given information a while back that you were no longer in the city, but that you were not to be sought out for recovery due to those awful reasons, terrible as the order was. It is quite lucky for everyone then, that you were with those three killjoys when you were. Now we can complete your procedure, and you can stay safe in the city where you belong.”

“Where I belong only because of this treatment, you mean.”

“What? Oh, I suppose that you’re not wrong in saying that, though it is not entirely true. You were born a citizen, and we wish you to stay. We value all citizens, and will do whatever we can to benefit them and those around them.” 

“Oh. Well, may I ask some more?”

“Yes, of course. Ask away, dear boy.”

“Um… Why is it, exactly, that I’ve been so tired? I keep feeling so drained and exhausted often even when I’ve done hardly anything.” 

“Ah, that. Well, you see, the machine that has been implanted within you is meant to regulate your emotions and suppress them to non-dangerous levels, as they should be normally. Since it takes quite a bit of energy to feel so strongly as you have been, the device is designed to sap some of that energy, keeping you from endangering yourself before you even have the chance. It is imperfect still though, so it has been depleting your energy after the fact, which is why you seem to be tired, as you noted, without even doing anything at all.”

“Oh. So, why are my emotions so… trapped? Or, I mean…” he fumbled for a good way to explain it. “Why does it feel like I can’t access my feelings at all, except in small bursts?”

“Well, that is rooted in a similar reasoning. Truthfully, at the time, we are still unsure what levels are best for you, as you seem to naturally amplify any scrap of feeling that you get. For now, the device puts a muzzle, so to speak, on your feelings. Until we know what is safest, it was determined that it is in your best interest to have little to no emotions. Now that you are back, more research will surely be done, and we will have the answer in no time, so don’t you worry, young man.” His response sounded very final, like he was being ordered not to worry, rather than being put at ease. Jet was not quite satisfied with this new information, but there did not seem to be a point in asking anything else at the moment.

* * *

Ecto Cooler had a lot of experience with being sneaky and going undercover. Despite his bright hair, he knew all the best ways to get around unnoticed anywhere in the zones. He knew all the shortcuts, backroads, hidden spots, and safe houses in the desert, and all the entrances and exits, undercover ‘joys, secret passages, and camera and mic-free spots in the city. This mission would be a simple in-and-out job, so long as the guy he was supposed to get didn’t put up a fight or make too much fuss. He’d worked with some pretty unwilling people before, and knew how difficult people could be when they just didn’t get it. 

Luckily, he knew all the likely places they would have brought someone, and had it pretty narrowed down due to the circumstances. When Burst dropped him off, he quickly headed to one of the camouflaged entrances into the city undergrounds. He made his way in, aiming for the exit near the center of the city. The closer he could get, the better. 

He tucked his hair under a hat, then emerged cautiously to street-level. One quick look around was all he needed to confirm his suspicions of where to go. There were significantly more masked mooks bustling around the chief district’s S/C/A/R/E/C/R/O/W/ HQ than there were on a typical day. They wouldn’t be stationed there for no reason, so it was clear. That was the place to go. He quickly radioed Burst with an update, then made his way inside.

* * *

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope that you liked this installment! 
> 
> (I hate Korse...)
> 
> Please don't be afraid to comment or kudos or whatever! And I'm also on Tumblr if you wanna chat or just see what stuff I post, @starman-trashcan so maybe check it out! (Unless you just came here from there... then you obviously don't have any need to.)
> 
> I hope everybody is staying safe and remembering to take care of themselves and others in this confusing time. Don't worry too much, and please remember to breathe and drink water! I love you all! <3


	16. And Disappear (again)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Korse has had enough, but that won’t be a problem for long.  
Back at the diner, nobody really knows what to do.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Uhhhh..... hi! 😅  
Yeah, so it’s been a little over two months... Sorry about that!!! 
> 
> Finally I was able to finish this chapter, and I didn’t want to wait a second longer to update!(so it hasn’t been edited lol) I hope you enjoy!!

* * *

Sterling was proving to be quite difficult to deal with. He asked so many questions. Yes, they have always had procedures in place to deal with curious city-folk, even those who had mistakenly ventured beyond the safety of home, but he was already a special case, and this was only further complicating things. There was only so much Korse could take. He had been provided with a whole list of good responses to commonly asked questions, off of which he could base his own answers to other questions. But, that list had been exhausted long ago, and this boy just would not slow down or shut up.

Remarkably, it finally got late enough that he could get some rest, and send for someone to escort Sterling to a holding cell for the night. Or, maybe longer depending how prepared he felt for another barrage of questions when the morning came. After a long and tedious day, he was finally rid of that pain in his side. Luckily, the boy was very receptive to everything that he told him; believing the truths and the carefully constructed lies just the same. The fire of his curiosity continuously burned brightly, but Korse realized how easy it was to be casual and give him the good answers he wanted to hear when he found it too difficult to keep formulating his typical eloquent responses. It was a huge weight off of his shoulders, watching the guard lead Sterling away.

Pressing a hand to his temple, Korse began to more deeply consider some of the boy’s questions, and what exactly happened that caused him to have these questions. Perhaps there was more wrong with the desert than their wonderful corporation had previously thought… What else could cause someone to ask that?! Of course he’s a ‘he’! He’s obviously not a girl, and there’s nothing else _ to _ be! The poor boy’s mind really had been warped.

Tomorrow he’d have to explain this all to the boy, how bad it really was out there, and how lucky he was that he wasn’t worse. Little did Korse know, he wouldn’t have a chance to say anything to Jet tomorrow.

* * *

By some stroke of luck, not only was it getting late by the time that Ecto found where in the building he needed to be, but he just happened to pass a drac guard escorting just the guy he came for around a corner. And more than that, they were alone in the hallway. Fantastic! This would be easy! He fired off a quick blast into the back of the Drac’s head, watched it fall, and grabbed the guy—Jet Star’s—arm.

“Wh-what’s going on?”

“I’m breaking you out of here. Party Poison sent me.”

Jet looked like he didn’t quite understand, but also seemed perfectly happy to trust Ecto and keep running with him. Good. That would make this even easier. He dragged Jet through the building, shooting the few people who happened to be in their path. It wasn’t a very populated level of the building. They reached the elevator, and suddenly, as soon as he pulled Jet inside… alarms started going off. Just great. Well, his luck had to run out eventually. Tensions rose as soon as they started moving, descending to the ground floor. He hoped they could get out of there easily.

“Stay close to me when the door opens. I’m gonna run as fast as I can, and you need to be with me. I’m not gonna be able to hold your hand through a fight, so I’ll try to avoid having one.”

Jet nodded his understanding, so as soon as the door had opened, Ecto bolted toward the door, still dragging Jet along by the arm. Some shots were fired their way, but hardly anything hit, and he barely felt those that did from the adrenaline. Surprised that Jet was able to keep up so well, they ran right out of the doors and into the streets. 

“Alright,” he shouted, tightening his hold on Jet’s arm, “we need to make sure we’ve lost them before I get us where we need to go, so keep up and don’t get hit!”

“Okay, got it.”

He finally let go of Jet, pulling out his blaster and firing over his shoulder on the opposite side that Jet had been. Slowly, the incoming fire ceased, and they were free to duck into an alley and recuperate. 

“Hey, before we start running again,” Jet spoke up meekly, “what’s your name? I don’t want to just keep calling you ‘the green-haired guy’ in my mind...”

Oh. He didn’t even have time to introduce himself. Well, no time like the present. 

“Sorry ‘bout that, man. I’m Ecto Cooler—call me Ecto.”

“Ecto? Like, a ghost?”

“Something like that. I’ve got a pretty sweet reputation for being nearly transparent. It’s a good skill for missions like this, so you’re lucky to have such milkshake friends who know to call me. And Burst, of course.”

“Burst?”

“Orange Lavaburst. They’re my friend and teammate. You’ve got a rad team too.”

“I don’t know if we’re really a… team. But they took me in, and I’m grateful to them for that at least. Don’t know where we really stand on… other things, though.”

Ecto didn’t really have anything to say to that, and they still needed to get out.

“Alright, rest time is over. We need to keep moving.”

He started forging ahead, going back to the same end of the tunnel he entered from, vaguely registering Jet’s weak protests behind him. Something about ‘but… mumble.. bleeding… mumble mumble… hurt...?’ or something like that. It wasn’t important right now. Not while they still had to keep moving. They could deal with anything else once they were safe in the tunnels, or better yet, back with Burst. They could look them both over when there wasn’t any danger. It would be fine.

* * *

Ghoul couldn’t deal with this much longer. Kobra was getting increasingly more agitated, and was relying on his brother to help calm him. Party was doing his best, but even with all his experience and time he’s spent with Kobra, he was struggling; it wasn’t hard to see. If this went on, it would fall on Ghoul to deal with the fallout and exhaustion of both of them. He really wasn’t in the right state of mind to want to deal with so many emotions… But, it was the right thing to do.

He approached the booth where Kobra was sulking with his head buried in Party’s shoulder, and sat down across from the brothers. No way was he attempting to squeeze a third person on that bench.

“Hey… Holding up alright there?”

“Mmph,” Kobra groaned.

“He’s worried.”

“Yeah, P. We all are. It’s kinda hard not to be worried when we’re sitting here hoping to get a kidnapped friend back!”

“No, not like that…” Party glances down at Kobra, then leaned closer to Ghoul, whispering. “He told me he had been having a kinda really important conversation with Jet before everything, and he just ran off. I knew the leaving part, but I didn’t realize that he left after Kobra was trying to tell him something so big.”

“Oh. Yeah… that is a little worse. Can I ask what this important discussion was about?”

“Uh, well, it’s not really mine to tell. And anyway, I’ve only got guesses as to what it was.” He looked apologetic, but Ghoul understood. He leaned back and stopped whispering.

“Don’t worry about it. I just… I want to be better able to help. There’s not really much I can do for either of you right now and I hate it. I miss him too, but we gotta remember that we barely knew him. If something does go wrong, we can’t just sulk forever.”

Kobra looked up with an absolutely heartbroken expression. “What, you want us to just forget about him if he doesn’t come back? What if something bad happens? We could _ do _ something.”

“Hey, I’m not trying to be insensitive. Really. I just think we should… remember that Jet isn’t an official part of the team. We’re not responsible for him, and if we can’t get him back, it shouldn’t take such a huge toll on us. We need to expect the worst here.”

“...I guess that makes sense. But as soon as he’s back I’m gonna ask him to join!”

“Woah woah, wait.” Party sat up straighter and looked at his brother. “You can’t just do that. We have to discuss that kind of thing as a team.” 

“Then let’s discuss it right now! We’re already-”

“_ Wait. _ That’s not all. Yeah, we could have a meeting about this, but that really should wait until we know we have someone who can join. And I don’t mean just getting him back. He still isn’t really… sound of mind? I don’t know if that’s the right way to put it, but… you know what I mean. He needs more time before we can expect him to make such a big decision.”

“Party’s right, Kobra. This isn’t a discussion for right now. Why don’t you go rest, and we’ll let you know as soon as there’s any more news from Burst, ‘kay?”

“I… I guess. I’m not tired though.”

“Yeah, right. It’s not like you’ve been freaking out and pacing across the whole diner for hours.”

“Whatever. Fine, I’ll go lay down. Will that make you two happy?”

“Extremely.”

“Promise we’ll getcha at any news,” Party repeated with a grateful smile. “And I’m sure it’ll only be good news anyway, so don’t worry yourself like this anymore. Love you.”

“Yeah, you too.”

Party got up to let his brother out of the booth, while Ghoul watched.

He really hoped it would all be okay. But he’d make sure they were prepared if it wasn’t.

* * *

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> :)
> 
> Yep everything is gonna be fine.
> 
> Yep.
> 
> Anyway, I love talking to people so even if you only wanna (politely) scream at me for something, I’d love to hear it! Comments are great, and my tumblr is starman-trashcan  
⭐️💖😊💖⭐️ Love y’all!!!


	17. And They Go

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The escape from the city continues. Korse realizes what's happened.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi! I was gonna post this tomorrow, but I couldn't wait! I hope you enjoy! <3
> 
> Minor warnings: non-graphic mentions of injuries, blood. A sentence or two in all caps.

* * *

Jet ran behind Ecto, rushing through the tunnels under Battery City. He had no idea that such a thing had been right under him for so long. As surprising as it was, there was of course a more pressing issue. Ecto was injured, and didn’t even seem to notice, much less care. He was bleeding, and wouldn’t even stop for a second! Jet knew it could only end badly.

Eventually, after much running and worrying on both their parts, the two of them seemed to have reached the end. Ecto was breathing heavily, clearly not doing so well. He opened up a hatch, not unlike the one they entered through, and climbed up. He offered a hand to help Jet up, but he simply shook his head and got out on his own.

Oh. They were… outside the walls. He’d never seen this area. He saw the gates of the city when he was brought back by Korse, but this was different. It felt a lot stranger, to be willingly leaving the place he had called his home for so long. Why… why was he leaving, anyway? Sure that room had been weird, and Korse was pretty suspicious, but he was getting his questions answered. He was actually somewhere that could help! Right? Getting answers and getting help weren’t really the same things though…

“You good?”

He was pulled out of his thoughts by Ecto’s voice. “We still have to get back to Burst. They’re just a little further on.”

“But-!” He tried protesting again. Ecto needed medical attention.

“Cool it. If something’s wrong, Burst can help. Just wait, alright?”

He nodded. That was true, his friend would probably know what to do—how to deal with him—they _were_ in a crew with each other…

They forged ahead, walking around the city barriers through the dirt and dust, until they could see a motorcycle; a figure with orangey hair standing next to it, with another bike beyond. Ecto broke into a run again, calling out, “Burst!” and confirming Jet’s suspicions that this was the right person.

“Ecto! Sweet, you got ‘im! Let’s- Destroya’s mercy, how long have you been bleeding?!”

“Wait, me? I thought _he_ was hurt! I didn’t even realize…” Ecto trailed off as he looked himself over.

“Did you run through the city like that?! Turn around and let me see if there’s any other injuries.”

They swatted his hand away from the wound on his side that he was inspecting, and grabbed his shoulders to spin him around. He cried out suddenly, as it was revealed that he had a much larger wound on his shoulder blade, which was bleeding quite a lot.

“Curse those Batts and their weapons,” they muttered, before letting go of him and walking back to their bike.

“Um… is there anything I can do to help?” Burst turned and finally looked at Jet, frowning.

“I need to get him bandaged up, and then we gotta get somewhere safer, quick. Help him stay standing while I deal with his injuries. Now that the adrenaline has faded, he might pass out.”

Jet gave a taut nod and rushed close to Ecto, standing in front of him and letting him lean slightly forward on him.

“Burst, it’s fine,” Ecto slurred. “We gotta get this kid back to ‘is crew…”

“Enough. You got him out, so he’s fine. You’re more important now.”

Burst spoke with a no-nonsense tone, but Jet could hear the shaky fear under the surface. They worked quickly, hiding their worry, even when Ecto slumped, leaning fully against Jet. Burst looked around him when they were done, fixing Jet with a firm stare.

“He’s still okay for now, but we have to get him somewhere safe. We’ve got three of us, two bikes, and he’s out of commission. Can you drive a motorcycle?”

“I… I’ve never done it before.”

“Then… I guess we’re leaving one here. We’re gonna try an’ squeeze all three of us on one bike, ‘kay? Ecto in the middle of us so he doesn’t fall off. Come on.”

Jet had no idea how that idea was going to work, but he supposed it had to if they were all getting out of there. He helped Burst move Ecto onto their bike, then got on behind him once he and Burst were on safely and securely. He gripped Burst for dear life and got ready to go.

Once they were driving, Burst quickly introduced themself as Orange Lavaburst, then began fiddling with their radio.

“Poison, come in Poison. This is Burst callin’ out for Poison.”

The radio spit quiet static at them for a minute before crackling to life; a response.

“You got Ghoul here. Party’s gettin’ Kobra. Oh- Wait, they’re both here now. You got an update for us?”

“Yeah. We’re on our way back. Y’all’ve got med stuff back there, right?”

“Yeah? Wh-” Kobra’s voice broke in suddenly.

“What happened!?”

“Ecto’s hurt bad. He got your friend out, but we gotta get him some medical ‘tention quick as we can. Don’t… don’t worry. We’ll be there soon. Burst signin’ off.”

They shut off their radio before anyone back at the diner could say anything else. Letting out a shaky breath, they tightened their grip on the handles and sped up, causing Jet to hold on to them even tighter. They’d be at the diner in no time, and then he could see his friends, and Ecto could be okay, and he could sleep, and everything would be alright. It’d be fine.

* * *

“WHAT DO YOU MEAN HE’S GONE?!”

The Drac shuffled nervously in front of Korse.

“I mean. He is no longer in our custody. And likely no longer in any of our facilities.”

“How? When!?”

“Last night, sir. Our reports state that the patient was intercepted while being escorted to his cell. The culprit took him away and escaped from the building with him in tow.”

Korse pinched the bridge of his nose.

“Was the culprit at least able to be identified so that we may locate our patient?”

“....”

“Well?”

“No, sir. No they were not.”

“Useless…” he muttered under his breath.

“...Sir?”

“USELESS!” He smacked the Draculoid with the back of his hand as he shouted, his face turning red with anger. “Get out of here!"

The Drac ran from the room immediately, fearing further consequences of his superior’s temper.

Korse, in a rage, made a mess of his office, papers flying everywhere, pens rolling to the floor, his chair falling over.

“I only just got him _back_! How can the project continue without the patient?! It could take ages to find another suitable subject. I’ll get him back here and _keep him here_ no matter what it takes. I need my test subject, and none of those worthless, idiot Draculoids are going to keep me from that!”

* * *

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My birthday was just last Saturday, and it was great! Not ideal, with the pandemic, but i got takeout from a good restaurant, new headphones, and a mystery box! Also I'm an adult now so that's scary. 
> 
> I'm already working on the next chapter, but as always, no idea when it'll be done or posted, especially since I have family visiting in a few days, and my sister will be heading back to college on the 10th, so there';s a lot of things to be done around the house. Sorry!
> 
> Comments, kudos, and just generally showing appreciation is always lovely! My Tumblr is starman-trashcan and I love interacting with people, even if I can't always get to it quickly! <3
> 
> I hope everyone has a good day!!! I love you all!!!


	18. Stainless Steel

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jet Star is returned home. But all is not good yet...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello! New chapter! Sorry for the wait! It’s been a while huh? It’s now more than a year since I started this thing! (I’m so sorry that it’s been taking so long though!!!)
> 
> I hope you enjoy it (and don’t kill me for it)! I spent a while trying to figure out how to finish the last part, so that’s part of why it took so long. But I finally came to me. 
> 
> Thank you to the wonderful Pink @hyperthrust for beta-reading this once again! Go check ‘em out if you haven’t already!
> 
> (I’m sorry and also I’m adding a few more tags now so check that for content warning maybe?)  
Oh also tw for descriptions of the process of CPR

* * *

How…  _ how _ did things go so bad so quickly?

Party watched the scene before him in shock, feeling as if he wasn’t really there. 

One second he was calmly helping Burst, Ecto, and Jet inside, and the next he was helping deal with a patient in critical condition. How did this happen?! He thought back.

The noise of an engine in the distance grew as a bike came into view carrying their friends. All three of them. Good. Ghoul made sure that the medical supplies were all out and ready. They didn’t know exactly how Ecto had been hurt, other than that it was ‘bad’ as Burst had warned, but they were prepared. Even the worry that crept up on them as the bike drew nearer wasn’t as overpowering as it could have been. Nowhere near the anxious relief that Kobra was radiant with. He was nearly bouncing off the walls, full of joy and anticipation. Party noticed some lapses of that positivity of course, but mostly he seemed happy.

Burst’s bike pulled up and the three riders all rushed off, Jet and Burst working together to help Ecto. Party ran outside to join them and help however he could, ending up guiding them as the two walked supporting either side of Ecto. They all got inside quickly, and Party led them over to the mattress that Ghoul had dragged into the main room, helping lower their patient down comfortably and safely. He was unconscious, but it was still better to be gentle with him than not. Party had fretted over him much more when he saw the extent of the bleeding and size of the wound, but even then, it had been mostly calm. Everything seemed to be in control. But… it didn’t last… 

While they were checking him over, they noticed that he’d suddenly stopped breathing. Burst immediately freaked, Jet looked frightened, and everyone went into a panicked frenzy. He had a critical patient and no clue what to do. He had to clear his head.

What did you do in situations like this? Why couldn’t he remember?

Ghoul’s hand suddenly settled on his shoulder, and he was fixed with a calm and reassuring stare, grounding him. 

Right. CPR.

Compressionscompressionscompressionscompressionscompressions-

Tilt his head back. Pinch his nose.

B r e a t h e. 

Compressions. Compressionscompressionscompressions…  _ Keep going! _ Compressions! Compressionscompressionscompressions.

_ Losing him… _

B r e a t h e.

_ Do it again. Back and forth. Got to save him. _

_ ...He- No… _

“Party…” Ghoul whispered. He looked up and saw that his calm state had turned into a look of sadness and pity.

_ No. _

“I’m sorry,” Party choked out, still in shock. He didn’t have the heart to look at Burst.

“N-no. He can’t… He can’t be! You’re lyin’ to me! You’ve… you gotta be.”

Ghoul moved closer to Burst, reaching out a hand to them. “Burst… I’m sorry, but he’s gone.”

Orange Lavaburst leaned down, throwing themself over their teammate, sobbing and staining his jumpsuit with tears. 

Ecto Cooler was dead.

* * *

Wh-What? No. No, this was supposed to be a good moment. Jet Star was back. Kobra could talk with him again. He could ask why he ran off. But…

Ecto… he… he just died because of this mission. It… it wasn’t supposed to go so bad. Party was supposed to save him! How could it have gone so  _ wrong? _ They only just met and now he was lying dead in front of him. Burst seemed like such a chill person, and now they had lost all of their composure, begging for their friend back. It was a truly heart-wrenching scene to be witness to, and he couldn’t keep looking. Kobra turned to Jet and tried to catch his attention. He was clearly quite shaken at everything too, so maybe a distraction would be welcome. Jet noticed Kobra’s gaze on him after a few moments, finally tearing his eyes away from the sad sight he’d been transfixed on. He startled when their eyes met, and Kobra immediately was reminded of what had happened when they’d talked last. He crossed the room to be next to Jet, allowing him to speak quietly and not disturb anyone else.

“Hi. Uh, are you okay?”

Jet shrugged. “I guess? As okay as I can be…”

“Yeah… that makes sense.” He stared down at his boots, wishing that he could have stopped this.

“I’m sorry.”

“What?” He looked up at Jet again and saw a tear rolling down his cheek.

“It’s my fault that this happened. He died bringing me back here.”

He had no idea what to say to that. It was true that Ecto was hurt while saving Jet, but that didn’t make it Jet’s fault. He just stood in silence, wishing he had the words to comfort anyone.

“It’s not your fault…” he whispered, before going back to his room. He couldn’t be there, watching such a tragedy any longer.

He sat on his mattress, holding his knees to his chest and letting himself fall over. After a few minutes of just laying there in silence, he heard the steady sound of footsteps come his way. The bed dipped beside him, and looking up, he saw Jet Star perched on the edge of the mattress.

Neither said anything for a while, simply sitting in silence until finally, Kobra snapped at him. 

“What are you doing here? Shouldn’t you be out there helping?”

“Party and Ghoul are still out there to comfort Burst. Someone’s got to comfort you.”

“I’d rather it wasn’t you,” he mumbled before he could stop himself.

“...Oh.” The earnest smile that had been slowly appearing abruptly vanished. “Well, I can leave, if you want.” Jet turned away.

“No.”

“No?” He looked back at Kobra. “Uh, alright then.”

He stayed put, just looking awkwardly at the floor.

Typically the silence would be peaceful, but with Jet just… being there, it was too much to handle. He had to break it.

“You ran away.”

“What?” He finally looked at Kobra. “No, I was captured. R-remember?”

He shook his head. “But first you ran. You ran away from me, outside, and that’s how they got you.”

“Oh. Yeah, I did. I’m sorry.”

“Why?”

“Why am I sorry?”

“No. Why did you run?”

“You… you said you love me. I don’t-”

“Oh. I understand. It’s okay if you don’t love me back. You don’t… you don’t have to. But if you hadn’t run off, then…”

“Then everyone would be safe. I know. Like I said, it’s my fault this all happened. I should probably go before I put anyone else in danger.”

Kobra blinked in surprise. “What? No! That isn’t what I meant! Don’t leave! We only just got you back!”

“You shouldn’t have bothered to get me at all. I’m not like you all out here. I’m not normal.”

“Just because you’re different doesn’t mean you deserve to be trapped in the city! You deserve freedom as much as anybody else. And I don’t think any of us can really be called normal, to be fair.”

Jet smiled just slightly, then stood. “Thank you, but I’m not sure I believe it. I’ll try to stay, but if things get bad, you have to let me go, okay?”

He didn’t want to agree. Kobra just stared and frowned at Jet, refusing to give him a response. They both just looked at each other before Jet sighed and shook his head, heading towards the door.

“I’m gonna get some rest, and try to stay out of the way. If the others ask after me, let them know I don’t want to cause any more trouble.”

“Love you…” Kobra whispered after he was gone.

It wasn’t his fault. It wasn’t anybody’s fault, and he was going to make sure Jet understood that.

* * *

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> :’) please don’t kill me I value my life
> 
> But um.... what a chapter, huh? 
> 
> Talk to me or check me out on tumblr @starman-trashcan and also I always love comments and messages and stuff! I’d love to be friends if we aren’t already! <3


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